Semper Fast
by AboveTail
Summary: The son of a U.S. Marine combat instructor, Allen Martin had only been stationed in Japan for a few days before he was taken hostage by a villain. Rescued by All Might, Allen was inspired to follow the path of a hero. Armed with his combat training and quirk, he's determined to be the kind of hero who rescues others the way he was-in the blink of an eye. T-VL Rewritten up to Ch 8
1. I Wanna Be a Hero

Semper Fast Chapter 1: I Wanna Be A Hero

While nobody in their right mind would describe the life of Allen Martin as 'typical', his first eight years of life were relatively uneventful. As uneventful as the life of a military brat living in a superhuman society could be, anyways. However, his father's latest assignment was a bit different than all of the others before it for two reasons—the first being that-due to increased tensions between the U.S. and China-this assignment was to be indefinite; secondly, it was Allen's first time in another country altogether.

Japan was nothing like the bases in Florida, California and Texas that he had been dragged to and from his entire life. The language, the culture, the _cleanliness_ …everything was so alien. There was one thing that was the same though, the quirks. Allen was one of those fortunate enough to be born "normal-looking". While the ever-increasing prevalence of quirks in the general population had made inhuman features more and more common, there was still a bit of ingrained prejudice against people with mutant-type quirks. Having inherited his father's blue eyes and his mother's sandy blonde hair, Allen looked like a caricature of an American boy and even in the bustling crowd of downtown Tokyo, he stood out. Perhaps that was the reason why on his first trip with his mother outside of the confines of the Camp Fuji base, he found himself caught in the sweaty grasp of a man who was obviously fleeing something. Scared and confused, Allen had no idea what was happening when he suddenly found himself in the middle of an intersection with a clawed finger held to his throat. The man was shouting something to the curious crowd gathered around them that Allen couldn't understand.

" _Ushiro ni todomaru, matawa ore wa kodomo wo korosu yo! Ore wa chikau!_ " (Stay back, or I'll kill the brat! I swear I will!) Almost as soon as the words left the desperate man's lips, a blue and red blur too fast to make out came out of nowhere and before Allen could do so much as blink, the man who had taken him was laying on the ground unconscious, and he was sitting on the muscular shoulder of an enormous blond man who was grinning from ear to ear.

" _Anata wa dare wo mou kizutsukenaidarou...Watashi ga kita!"_ (You aren't going to be hurting anyone…because I am here!) With that triumphant declaration, the crowd burst into thunderous applause. With a gentleness that belied his enormous stature, the man set Allen down and kneeled so that he could make eye contact with the boy. " _Daijobudesuka shonen? Anata no haha wo ya ga doko ni iru ka shitte imasu ka?"_ (Are you alright, young man? Do you know where your mother is?)

Allen shook his head, "I-I'm sorry, I don't understand you."

"I see," he replied, "How about now? Are you okay? Do you know where your mother is?"

Before Allen could say a word, the universe provided the answer in the form of his crying mother, who had finally pushed her way through the crowd. "ALLEN!" she shouted, tears of relief pouring down her face, "Thank goodness! I thought I had lost you! Thank you so much, Mr... _All Might?"_ Her voice had taken on the tone of someone who couldn't believe what she was seeing—though to be fair, seeing the number one hero and undisputed strongest man in the world save your son might have that effect.

All Might stayed around for a few more minutes, waiting until the police arrived to take witness statements and arrest the villain, and during that entire time, Allen's eyes never left the massive frame of the famous hero. Once everything had been squared away, All Might let out a boisterous laugh and leapt hundreds of feet into the air, leaving the scene to respond to the never-ending demands of his profession.

Several hours later, on the train ride back to the base, Allen spoke his first unprompted words since the villain had grabbed him. "Mom?" he said, with a look of determination that seemed alien on his childish face.

"Yes Allen?"

"I wanna be a hero."

(Six Years Later)

* _SMASH*!_ Everybody watching the latest of the many villain attacks that seemed so commonplace now had their jaws gaping in shock as the gigantic shark-faced purse snatcher was drop kicked into the distance by an equally enormous, but far more attractive blond woman just as the popular hero Kamui Woods was about to fire off his finishing move.

Afterwards, as the newly debuted Mt. Lady ate up the attention of the press with a sexy pose and an unsettlingly predatory smile-and the thoroughly overshadowed Kamui sulked-a rather plain-looking freckled teenage boy with curly green hair was hard at work, muttering up a storm and writing in a notebook. He was about average height for his age, and while he had a slender frame at first glance, closer inspection revealed that he was actually quite fit, for concealed beneath his black school uniform were the streamlined, compact muscles that one would expect to find on a crossfit enthusiast or a swimmer.

A nearby bystander with an odd protrusion coming out of his head overheard the boy's muttering and glanced at him curiously. Written on the cover of the notebook in his hands was a name, _Midoriya Izuku_ , and beneath that, _Hero Analysis for the Future. Vol 13._ "…A hero fanboy, eh?" The man said to Midoriya with a grin, "Are you hoping to become a hero yourself? Keep up the hard work!" He cheered the boy on with a thumbs up.

Midoriya's face lit up with heartfelt appreciation for the encouraging words. He didn't get to hear them very often. "Thanks!" He said gratefully, "I will!" With a final stroke of his pen, he snapped his notebook shut and nudged a larger boy wearing the same uniform as him, getting his attention. "Come on Allen," he said, "we're going to be late for homeroom if we don't get a move on!"

"Huh?" Allen replied, shaking himself out of a hormone-induced stupor. He had been thoroughly occupied with the critically important task of burning the magnificent form of Mt. Lady into his brain. "Yeah, right...class...listen, about that, do we _have_ to go now?" He asked, "I wanna get a picture with the super hot hero lady! We can spare a few minutes for that, right? We'll get a pass for being late because of the attack!...probably."

"Are you gonna post the picture on twitter if you do?" Midoriya asked. He took the larger teen's silence as an answer and started walking. "I thought so. Do what you want, but I'm not going to lie to the teacher for you so you to prove me wrong on social media."

"Tch!" Allen clicked his tongue and followed after his friend. "Spoilsport." Allen had befriended the high-strung quirkless boy beside him a few years ago when he had somehow convinced his parents to allow him to enroll in a Japanese middle school. He reasoned that if he wanted to succeed at Yuuei, which had been All Might's alma mater and his future goal, he would need exposure to the Japanese school system and immersion in the language.

Within a week of transferring into the school, he came across a pair of third year students harassing a short, scrawny, timid kid with green hair that he vaguely recognized from his class and-being unusually big and strong for his age even then-he put a stop to it by knocking one of the bullies unconscious and knocking out three of the other bully's teeth. After serving a two day suspension for fighting, Allen was greeted at the front gates upon his return by a bowing Midoriya and was given a squeaky, stuttering declaration of gratitude. After that, the two became almost inseparable, quickly drawn together by their shared dreams and mutual worship of All Might as well as their outsider status—Allen for his bad first impression marking him as the scary, violent, foreigner, and Midoriya for his awkwardness and lack of a quirk.

"Did you see the way that Kamui Woods used his quirk to neutralize the villain back there?" Midoriya gushed as the made their way to the front gates of the school, "It's that kind of stuff that's going to be invaluable to me when we finally become heroes!" Allen smiled at his friend's determination—the kid just had no quit in him and he refused to let his life's circumstances keep him from pursuing his goals. It definitely appealed to Allen's deeply ingrained American love for the underdog.

"Not really," Allen admitted with a grin, as he removed his shoes and placed them into the locker with his name under it, "I was kind of distracted by the insanely hot 15 meter tall woman in the skintight jumpsuit." He raised an eyebrow at his friend, "Or did you _not_ notice that part of the whole encounter?"

Midoriya had to cover his face to hide the fiery blush that enveloped his freckled face. "Uh, um, I-I m-might have noticed it a little, I guess…that costume d-did certainly…um, _cling_ in interesting ways."

Allen slapped his embarrassed friend on the back and let out a good-natured laugh; "Good!" he said cheerfully, "I'm glad to see that there is a guy buried underneath all of that nerd! I'd be a little worried about changing around you next year if all you could think about during that glorious display was another guy's wood!"

Midoriya just rolled his eyes at his friend's tasteless joke, having grown used to putting up with it over the last two years and the two made their way to class. The day dragged on, as school days tended to do, until a few minutes before the end of class their teacher cleared his throat for an announcement.

"Attention everyone!" he barked, slamming his hands down onto his desk, "I will now pass out the career aspiration forms!" He grinned, "Although it's clear you all want to go to the hero section right? You all have such good quirks!"

Allen frowned while the majority of the class took the teacher's comment as an invitation to begin showing off their quirks. Midoriya visibly deflated at this demonstration of just how unfair life had been to him.

"Don't put me in the same category as the rest of these losers, sensei!" An arrogant voice jeered, "I don't intend to make nice with people with weak-ass quirks like theirs!"

Ignoring the grumbles and shouts of the students around him, the teacher smirked at the arrogant teen. "That's right, Bakugo." He said, "You want to go to Yuuei, don't you?"

At the impressed mutterings of the rest of the class, Bakugo let out a laugh and jumped up onto his seat. "That's right! I'm not surprised that a bunch of background losers like you are quacking! I got an A in the mock exams, I'm the only one here that's going to Yuuei and eventually I'm gonna surpass All Might and _I'll_ be the highest ranking hero!"

The teacher let out a hum, "Now that you mention it, both Martin and Midoriya wish to enter Yuuei as well."

At his teacher's words, Bakugo froze in mid-narcissistic rant and the entire class robotically turned as one to stare incredulously at the both of them, but at Midoriya in particular. There was a moment of silence before the classroom erupted into laughter, causing Allen to grit his teeth at the cruel mockery of his friend's dream.

"Deku you fucking good for nothing!" Bakugo cut off the laughter with an explosion from his palm that he slammed into Midoriya's desk. "You don't even have a weak quirk! You've got nothing at all! What makes you think that you can stand in the same arena as me huh?"

Midoriya quaked with fear that had been ingrained by years of abuse; "Y-you got it wrong, Kacchan." He said waving his hands frantically, "I have no intention of competing with you, not at all!"

Allen however, was having none of it and was on his feet and in Bakugo's face in a blur of motion. "No, fuck that! Don't be intimidated by this asshole Midoriya! You had better back off Bakugo!" Allen growled, his words sounding oddly high-pitched and unusually fast, "Or can you only mess with people who won't fight back?"

Bakugo turned his head and glared at Allen, "Shut the fuck up you gaijin dickhead. Your body and your quirk might not be totally worthless, but you're too stupid to pass the written exam even with Deku holding your hand. You're still nothing but a bug compared to me. Now get out of my face before I fucking kill you!"

Allen took another step closer, he was several centimeters taller than Bakuko and loomed over the obnoxious bully, glaring right back into his angry red eyes. "I'd love to see you try it you self-entitled little prick! For someone as supposedly smart as you are, I'd have thought that you'd have learned your lesson by now. Or do I have to put your head through a fucking wall again for it to sink in?"

Sparks began to emit from Bakugo's palms as his expression went from angry to murderous. "That was a fucking cheap shot and you know it! That shit won't work on me twice, try it again and I'll turn you into salsa!"

"ENOUGH!" The teacher shouted, slamming his hands down on the desk and making all of the students, save Allen and Bakugo, jump in surprise. "There will be no fighting in my class! And so help me if I hear about more shenanigans between you two like last year, I'll personally make sure that you can BOTH forget about ever going to Yuuei! Is that clear?" The two didn't answer, but continued to glare molten hatred at each other instead. "I said, _is that clear_?"

"Yes sensei." The two teens chorused through grit teeth.

"Good," the teacher said, "now get back in your seats!"

"This isn't over, shitstain!" Bakugo growled at Allen before retaking his seat.

"Yeah, whatever." Allen replied sarcastically, his voice back to its normal pitch and speed. Before returning to his seat, he looked to the literally shell-shocked Midoriya, who was gathering his scorched and scattered things. "You okay bud?"

"Y-yeah," Midoriya replied, his hands were shaking and he had an expression that said that he wished for nothing more than to sink into the earth, "thanks."

After class ended, Bakugo and his posse of hangers-on moved to approach Midoriya again, but a glare from Allen caused the white-haired prick to scoff in disgust and walk out the door in a huff. He obviously had no desire to cause as big of a commotion as Allen would have inevitably have escalated the situation into given the thin ice the two were on. As they made their way to the train station, Midoriya was mostly silent while Allen alternated between telling jokes and ranting angrily about their abrasive classmate. As hard as Allen tried to cheer his friend up, he could see Bakugo's words and the class's jeering laughter had clearly gotten to the boy.

"Hey," Allen said, giving Midoriya a friendly punch to the shoulder, "my dad is going to be giving me another training session today. You want to come over and get some practice in?" Allen hoped he would say yes—Master Sergeant Chris Martin was an accredited master of the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program in addition to being highly proficient in a handful of other martial arts. He had been teaching Allen, and by extension, Midoriya, the finer points of combat for years.

While the two years of martial arts had done wonders for Midoriya's general confidence and his physique, he still turned into a blubbering mess whenever Bakugo turned his angry gaze upon him. Allen couldn't comprehend what his problem was with Midoriya. It was if it _offended_ him somehow that the quirkless boy would ever attempt to better himself in any way.

"I can't today." Midoriya replied quietly, "I have to run a few errands for my mom."

"Oh," Allen replied before letting out a sigh at the sight of his train arriving perfectly on time as usual, "look man, don't let that asshole get to you. You aren't weak, and you aren't useless. You've been learning from my dad for less than half the time I have, but you still manage to knock my ass on the ground during practice on occasion! Just cause you don't have some flashy quirk like Bakugo's doesn't mean you couldn't kick that asshole in the balls and put him to sleep with a choke!"

"Somehow I doubt it would be that easy." Midoriya replied, but grinned at the thought of it in spite of himself.

"There we go!" Allen said, clapping his friend on the back, "You better be smiling the next time I see you too! We're going to Yuuei, both of us!"

With those final words, Allen let out a quick curse and sprinted across the platform and through the closing doors of the crowded train with superhuman speed. Midoriya felt his smile drop off his face as the train holding his best (only) friend pulled out of the station. No matter how optimistic and supportive Allen was about his dream, he knew that it would take a one in a billion miracle for a quirkless kid like him to ever become a hero.

"Hmm," he said as he felt his phone vibrate with a news update, "let's see here…Slime Villain Evades Capture, Heroes in Pursuit." Midoriya crushed his urge to seek out the scene for his ever-growing collection of notes. He shook his head, "I better get those errands done before it gets too late, besides, what are the chances I'll randomly come across a villain that was able to get away from pro heroes?"

(The Next Day)

Allen stared sidelong at Midoriya who, despite looking exhausted, had been sporting a far-away dreamy smile on his face ever since they had met up at the train station that morning. "You're _sure_ you're okay?" Allen asked for what had to have been the fifth time that day. "Because that Slime villain shit was pretty intense and honestly, you've been acting like you had a few screws knocked loose."

Midoriya shook his head, "I got to meet All Might yesterday, and he saved my life!"

"That's right," Allen said with dawning comprehension, "you got to meet the man in person, just like I did! TV doesn't do him justice right? It's been six years since he saved me and I'll never forget the feeling of how he just radiated _power_."

"It's not just that," Midoriya said, "he…he told me that I can be a hero, and he was so impressed with me trying to save Kacchan that he's going to train me himself!"

Allen's mouth dropped open. "No fucking way! Midoriya, that's amazing! Even without a quirk, _All Might himself_ is going to train you?" he punched Midoriya in the arm causing him to yelp and rub his aching muscles, "Oh, sorry."

"Y-yeah, about that…" Midoriya lowered his voice and looked around to make sure that nobody was around, "Listen, if I tell you this, you have to _absolutely promise_ not to breathe a word of it to anyone, _ever_."

Allen blinked, he'd rarely seen Midoriya look so serious about anything before, "You know you can trust me, bud, I won't say a word. What's so important that it's got you worked up like this?"

Midoriya stopped where he was and grabbed Allen by the shoulders, "I _mean it_ , Allen. You can't tell _anyone_ , not your parents, _nobody_ can know about this. I shouldn't even be telling _you_!" With that, Midoriya grabbed his head in anguish and began muttering at high speed.

"Hey!" Allen interrupted, physically shaking his friend out of his panic, "I swear on my life, whatever you say stays between us!"

Midoriya went silent for a moment, as if he was trying to figure out what to say. "I'm only telling you this because you would find out something's up anyways, but for reasons that I can't go into, All Might told me that he has been looking for a successor for his quirk, which can somehow be passed on from person to person...and yesterday...he chose me.

Allen just stared at Midoriya for nearly a minute straight, completely lost for words, until he did something that Midoriya did not expect in the least—he started laughing.

"W-what's so funny?" Midoriya demanded, thinking that his friend didn't believe him, "That's really what happened! I swear!"

It took another minute of laughter before Allen could get out the words, "N-no, that's not it. I-I'm j-just picturing Bakugo's face when he realizes that you have a better quirk than him! Hahahahaha!" Midoriya rolled his eyes as tears of mirth rolled down Allen's face.

" _That's_ your reaction to this whole thing?" Midoriya asked incredulously, "Not 'how can a quirk be passed down', or 'why would All-Might choose you', but laughing at the thought of upsetting Kacchan?" Midoriya sounded exasperated, but he couldn't keep an amused smile off of his face.

Allen wiped the last of the tears from his face, "Oh, that was good…and well, yeah. It doesn't really matter to me _how_ his quirk can be passed down, if he says it can be done, and you believe him, then that's enough for me. I'm not smart enough to understand crap like that. Besides, I already know why he chose you, it's because you deserve it."

Midoriya flushed at this, but didn't say anything, so Allen continued, "I'm guessing he didn't know about the history between you and Bakugo, but I watched the whole thing on the news—the fact that you rushed in there, with no quirk, to help the biggest dick in the world while all of those other heroes were standing by doing nothing was the stupidest, but most heroic thing I've ever seen. I don't have half the bad blood between me and Bakugo that you do and I honestly don't think I would have tried to save him."

"Allen!" Midoriya scolded him, but Allen just shook his head.

"I'm sorry Midoriya, I know he was your friend once, and for some reason, you still respect him but I just don't see any good in that guy. As far as I'm concerned, he's just a piece of shit with a powerful quirk."

"Don't say that," Midoriya rebuked him, but without much heat, "Kacchan is…I know that Kacchan is difficult to like," Allen snorted at this, "or even tolerate, but he's an honestly amazing person. This wasn't on the news, but the Slime villain attacked me before it got to Kacchan. I was so helpless, I thought I was going to die in seconds. There was nothing I could do to defend myself. Kacchan was able to fight him off for almost thirty minutes. He deserves respect for that much, at least."

"A punch in the balls is what he deserves." Allen muttered, having no real response to that—Bakugo, despite his many, _many_ flaws, was a legitimately tough customer. "So do you have the quirk already? Is that what the special one-on-one training with All Might is for?"

Midoriya shook his head, "Not yet. He says that if I tried to use his power as I am now, my limbs might…um…explode."

"I'm sorry," Allen said, dramatically cleaning out his ears, "did you just say that your limbs would _explode_? As in, bloody chunks of gore explode?"

"Yeah, that was pretty much my reaction as well. Thanks to my training with you and your dad, All Might said that my conditioning was good enough that there was actually a chance that my body _migh_ t be able to handle it already, but he doesn't want to take any chances." Midoriya grimaced, no doubt picturing the messy explosion of his limbs, "And considering the risks involved, I'm inclined to agree with him. He made a workout plan for me and he says that he's sure that I'll be ready for his quirk in about six months."

" _Six months!_ " Allen exclaimed, "That would only leave you four months to get used to his quirk before the entrance exam! We're going to be competing against people who've been using their quirks their entire lives you know!"

"That's true," Midoriya admitted, but the look in his eyes showed no apprehension, only determination to do what needed to be done, "but I still have a better chance than I would have had without a quirk. I was already prepared to work at a relative disadvantage to everyone else, so as far as I'm concerned, what I need to do hasn't changed."

"Point." Allen conceded, before grinning so wide that his jaw ached, "This is going to be so fucking AWESOME! I believed in you before, but now we're going to be shoo-ins! We'll take the hero world by storm together, you and me!"

Midoriya went a little still at Allen's declaration. "Did you really?" he asked in a small voice, "D-did you really think that I could do it, even without a quirk?"

Allen raised an eyebrow at his friend's sudden meekness. "Well, duh." He replied, "I meant what I said yesterday." He started ticking off points on his fingers. "You're scary smart, you're good at analysis, and you've got good instincts and judgment in a fight. Hell, I'm bigger, stronger, and more experienced than you—by all rights, I should wipe the floor with you every single time we spar, but whenever you get a second to plan, you manage to pull some crazy gambit out of your ass for the win. There are heroes out there with non-combat related quirks who do just fine." Allen nodded with finality, neglecting to mention the fact that if he had used his quirk in any of those matches he would have annihilated Midoriya in seconds, plan or no plan, "True, you never could have been a heavy hitter like All Might or Endeavor, but that doesn't mean that you couldn't be a hero."

Midoriya had to cover his face with his hands to hide his pleased and embarrassed blush, "T-thanks Allen," he said, "it really means a lot to hear you say that."

Allen laughed and slapped Midoriya on the back, "Oh shut up, you pansy! What are you blushing like a schoolgirl for? Do I need to worry about changing in front of you after all?"

And just like that, the touching moment was over. "Jerk." Midoriya grumbled, "You get to say stuff like that with a straight face, but I don't get to feel sentimental about it for one second? How is that fair?"

"Life isn't fair," Allen replied, "or did the universe not make that clear when it decided to make someone like Bakugo a human howitzer?"

"I guess." Midoriya agreed.

"So what is this special training with All Might like?" Allen gushed, all too ready to nerd out over his favorite hero. "I imagine it has to be some kind of hardcore, amazing stuff right?"

"Uh, yeah. I'm actually, um…cleaning a beach."

Allen stopped in his tracks and stared at Midoriya, deadpan. "You're telling me that the special secret training to prepare yourself for All Might's quirk, the quirk that he says will make your _limbs explode_ if you aren't ready, is picking up trash on the beach?"

"It's harder than it sounds!" Midoriya protested, feeling the need to defend All Might's training methods, "It's less of a beach and more of a junkyard! There are broken down cars and refrigerators and stuff there! He made me pull a _truck_! He wants me to clean up _all of it_ before he'll give me his quirk! I'm already exhausted from this morning, and I'll be going there again after school and every day until it's done! It will be a miracle if I get it done in six months!"

"Jeez, okay," Allen said, holding his hands out in mock surrender, "I won't knock the trash collection. But you have to admit, it's a lot more..." Allen paused, looking for the right word, "…boring than I would have expected from someone like All Might."

Midoriya shook his head. "Actually, All Might said that boring stuff like that was one of the most important parts of being a hero."

Before Allen could reply, the two boys were interrupted by the sound of a bell ringing. Both boys paled, "Shit! We're late!" they chorused before booking it to the school as fast as their feet could carry them, as neither particularly fancied the thought of standing in the hallway holding a bucket of water for an hour.

After school, Allen sat on his train after bidding farewell to his friend, who left to go continue his training with All Might. During the trip that he normally dedicated to following the hero related news of the day, or looking at pictures of the newest hottest heroine (what could he say, he was 14), he instead used the time to quietly contemplate a stark realization that he had made—if he didn't start busting his ass, Midoriya would completely leave him in the dust. While he truly did believe that Midoriya was perfectly capable of being a hero, for years he had assumed that his friend would ultimately end up being partner—or, to put it bluntly, his sidekick. In Allen's vision of the future, he would be the big hero fighting villains and saving the day while Midoriya would put his talents to use on the logistical end, supporting him from the sidelines with his smarts and deep understanding of heroic tactics from years of analysis.

Allen knew that he wasn't the smartest guy in the world—despite his decent-ish grades, which were mostly due to a combination of his friendship with Midoriya and abusing his quirk for all it was worth—he was his father's son. Like his father, Allen was a true born grunt; a quintessential meathead who, despite his high level of competence in his area of expertise—in this case, punching, kicking, wrestling and choking people into a battered paste—was forever destined to take orders because he simply lacked the wisdom and foresight to give them. Unlike Allen, Midoriya _thought_ , Midoriya _planned_ , Midoriya carefully considered the best course of action to take and then took it without hesitation. And now he had All Might's quirk.

Allen just hit things hard, hit them fast, and then hoped to sort out the details later. How the hell was he going to compete with someone who both had a plan, and could hit things harder and move faster than he ever would.

With this in mind, Allen marched up to his father as soon as he got home and demanded harsher and more frequent training sessions. ' _I don't know if I can learn to be smarter, or more tactical just yet,'_ Allen thought as he followed his bemused father into the large room mat-covered room where the base held its hand-to-hand training seminars, ' _but until then, I'll work on my strengths until my weaknesses are irrelevant!'_ At his father's command, Allen raised his fists, activated his quirk and charged in on the offensive, unleashing an all-out high-speed assault. Three seconds later, he was laying on his back with stars in his eyes.

"Too straightforward," Chris rebuked, "I don't care how fast you can move, an experienced combatant will be able predict linear assaults like that! Work your angles! If you over commit with that kind of reckless bullshit again and I'll knock you unconscious next time! Now get up!"

Allen groaned with discomfort, but climbed to his feet and got into his fighting stance. " _This is going to be a long ten months._ " He thought.

 **AN: According to the statistical analysis of the story, about 50% of readers dropped this story after the first chapter. And, going it over again after about 7 months, I can see why. It was easily the weakest written chapter in the story. So I reworked it and I'm much happier. Those of you who have made it this far, please, leave a review and let me know what you think and give the rest of the story a chance.**


	2. The High Stakes Exam Begins!

Chapter 2: The High Stakes Exam Begins!

The moment that Midoriya had revealed his secret—that he was to be the successor to All Might's quirk and role as the symbol of peace in the superhuman society—Allen had poured body and soul into his training and his studies. His grueling training with his father had produced noticeable and excellent results—he was still in the middle of his growth spurt, and along with his sheer size, his skill level and physical conditioning had shot up dramatically as well. At times, Allen considered entering the tournaments of the various Martial Arts clubs at his school as a ringer, but any plans of collecting easy accolades to pad his resume were dashed by his less than stellar academic performance, which disqualified him from participating in competition.

Midoriya was working non-stop in order prepare his body to receive his new quirk, and that had unfortunate consequences for his American friend. Although Allen wasn't truly stupid, he wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed either, and he had found that he was almost hopelessly incapable of keeping up without his friend's tutoring help. It wasn't until Allen had seen his grades drop from a respectable 14th in his class, all the way down to last place during the first couple of months of Midoriya's new training schedule before he realized just how much he relied on his friend to demystify school for him.

As obnoxious as he was, Bakugo really did have a point when he would badmouth the quality of their school—their teachers' idea of education was simply throwing problems and concepts up on the board and expecting them to figure it out on their own with minimal explanation. Despite his parents putting him into language immersion classes nearly as soon as they arrived in Japan, Allen's grasp on the Japanese language was by no means perfect, and presented an additional level of difficulty which resulted in him falling further and further behind as the year progressed.

Speaking of Bakugo, the explosive teen had apparently decided that his usual shtick of bullying Midoriya wasn't worth his time anymore. He still made the occasional rude comment or empty threat, but he no longer joined in when the class mocked him for his heroic aspirations—something that Allen and Midoriya both appreciated. However, whatever understanding or mutual respect that those two had come to on the day of the sludge villain attack clearly did _not_ apply to Allen. The seemingly bottomless reservoir of pettiness and pointless aggression that Bakugo used to vent on Midoriya was now directed entirely towards Allen, although in different ways.

With Allen, Bakugo knew that his usual method of intimidation was worthless—and for good reason. While he believed from the bottom of his heart that he would emerge victorious in a truly no-holds barred fight with Allen, Bakugo also knew that a in schoolyard scrap—where simply exploding his opponent would put an end to his heroic career before it even started—he was at a distinct disadvantage. Not only Allen was significantly taller and more athletic than Bakugo, Allen was also a well-trained fighter with a powerful quirk of his own—one that he could freely use without drawing the unwanted attention that Bakugo's louder, flashier quirk would inevitably bring. Instead, Bakugo focused on the one thing that Allen could never hope beat him on in a million years—his grades. Bakugo never missed an opportunity to publically mock Allen's increasingly poor academic performance in comparison to his own, gleefully rubbing the boy's lack of success in his face and thoroughly infuriating him.

Despite this provocation, the two had somehow managed to never come to blows—though Allen occasionally confessed to Midoriya that it had been a close thing many times. Whenever he said this, Midoriya would simply offer his sympathies and remind Allen that trying to murder a classmate via suplex wouldn't look very good on his application, no matter how much he pissed him off. It was good advice, of course, but it didn't make it any easier when Bakugo called him a retard or shot him his usual gloating, arrogant smirk whenever tests came back and he was number one in the class, _again_. During those moments, each red mark that adorned Allen's tests felt like knife wound to his heart and pride—and a sure prelude to an angry, frustrated assault on a punching bag to which Allen had taped a picture of Bakugo's face.

His academic troubles weren't the only source of Allen's frustration, although they certainly were the most severe cause of it. In a bit of cosmic irony that Allen tried to laugh off as best as he could—because he was sure that he would cry otherwise—the physical fruits of his growth spurt and his training had finally overcome the hurdle of his bad reputation and he was at last popular with a certain segment of the girls of his class. The only problem was, the very training that had produced his newfound popularity also made him far too busy to enjoy it. When his increasingly poor grades had nearly resulted in his mother putting a stop to his daily multi-hour training sessions, Allen had to make a compromise—he could only continue his current regiment in exchange for giving up any and all free time outside of his training to his studies. With his best friend giving his absolute all in his own training, it was an easy decision for Allen to make—however, that didn't make it any less painful when he had to turn down date invitations in favor of hitting the books.

Despite his undeniable talent for martial arts and sports in general—athletics were just about the only thing that he _always_ excelled in, dominating even Bakugo in that particular arena—Allen had found his father to be an implacable, insurmountable wall that he simply couldn't overcome no matter how hard he tried. Even after months of training for hours every night, and full contact sparring three times a week, his father beat Allen down in the same decisive, seemingly effortless manner every time they stepped onto the mat. Logically, Allen knew that he had improved by leaps and bounds since he had first demanded that his father increase the intensity of his training—spars that used to last only seconds now stretched on for minutes at a time, but even with his quirk activated to the highest level he could tolerate, he had yet to land a clean blow on the older man, whose own quirk was ideally suited for close-quarters combat.

"You have to be more patient," Chris advised one night after casually knocking his son down for the third time inside of ten minutes, "you're stronger, and much less straight forward in your assaults than you used to be, which is good, but you still have a bad habit of getting frustrated and reckless when your opponent is able to keep up with you. You need to keep cool, and think three steps ahead."

"How am I supposed to do that if you can see and react to everything I do, no matter how fast I move?" Allen snapped back at him, blinking the stars out of his eyes, "It feels like you are reading my mind when I fight you!"

Chris smirked, "It's true that my quirk is an effective counter to your Fast Forward, but it's not invincible. Even if I can see what you are doing in the moment, it wouldn't matter if you used your head and controlled the flow of the fight. Fighting is like chess—there no such thing as a perfect defense. Everyone has openings, even me."

"Is that right?" Allen replied sarcastically, "Well I sure haven't seen any."

"That's because you aren't looking hard enough. I purposely overextended myself three times during that last exchange and you didn't go for any of them."

Allen shot his father a dirty look; "Every time I go for what looks like an opening with you it turns out to be a trap!" He ground his teeth, "All I can think to do is just start throwing combinations at random and hope that something hits!"

Chris shrugged, "I won't tell you not to feel frustrated, because that is a feeling I hope you never lose—if you want to be the best you should _always_ be shooting for the win, no matter who your opponent is—but also remember that I've been doing martial arts for longer than you've been alive. There's only one way to overcome an experience gap like that."

"Really?" Allen asked, hoping to glean some insight that had evaded him up until now, "How's that?"

Chris grinned savagely, punching his gloved fists together to make a loud clap. "Practice. Now get up, we've got another three rounds before I'm calling it a night."

And so it went. Allen eventually got used to the blatant staring from the public whenever he sported a new collection of bruises every morning after a sparring night with his father—although he and his mother had to have a long and _very_ awkward conversation with the school counselor assuring them that _no_ , he was _not_ being abused, and _yes,_ he was just fine thank you very much. However awkward sporting a multicolored face for months might have seemed, it was nothing compared to the first time that Midoriya came to school with his arm in a cast.  
Midoriya seemed more embarrassed than upset about the injury, avoiding eye contact and sheepishly laughing off questions from his fellow classmates—including Allen. While Midoriya had waved off speaking about it that morning when they had met up at the train station, Allen wasn't having any of it. There was no way that he was going to let this particular sleeping dog lie, so the moment that the lunch bell rang, he grabbed his protesting friend by the collar of his shirt and dragged him up to the school's roof for privacy.

"Okay," Allen said, staring his friend down with narrowed eyes, "you've been clammed up all day. I understand that you don't want to talk about it, but I want to know: what the hell happened to you? You know I won't leave you alone until you tell me—I'll even follow you to that beach if that's what it takes!"

"Okay, okay, I'll talk, just keep it down!" Midoriya hissed, waving his good arm in a panic. "This isn't as bad as it looks, All Might told me that he's calling in a favor, and that tomorrow he'll bring me to someone who will get it fixed up good as new! Can you please just let it go?"

Allen crossed his arms and began tapping his foot impatiently. He shook his head. "That's great dude, really. I'm glad you won't be held back by this for long, but I'm still waiting on the explanation for why your arm is in a cast in the first place."

Midoriya sighed, and averted his eyes, "Yeah, well do you remember when I told you why All Might wanted to make sure that it was safe to give me his quirk?"

Allen nodded. "Yeah, something like that is kinda hard to forget." Allen's eyes widened, "Wait…you finished cleaning the beach already? You already have the quirk? Wait, you _exploded your arm with the quirk_?"

Midoriya winced, "Yes, yes, and not exactly. I didn't _explode_ my arm, so much as…break it in like twenty or thirty places—I don't remember the exact number, I was still in a lot of pain when I was talking to the doctor."

"HOW?"

"I thought you were going to keep it down," Midoriya whined, but quailed under Allen's glare, "well, *ahem*, so anyways, I had finished cleaning the beach, and All Might gave me a speech about how I had exceeded his expectations and how I had earned this power…" at this, Midoriya's face took on the appearance of a kid who had been told that Christmas had come early, "…and he pulled out one of his hairs and said ' **Eat this'.** "

Allen's serious façade broke when he snorted in laughter at the eerily accurate impression of All Might that Midoriya had just pulled off, but he still had one question, "I'm sorry, he did _what_?"

Midoriya shrugged, "Apparently the way it works is you have to ingest the DNA of the person passing on the quirk."

Allen began snickering; "I guess that rules out blowjobs for you in the future then, huh?"

Midoriya inhaled some spit in surprise and began coughing from Allen's crude comment. "What the hell is wrong with you? Why would you ever say that, to _anyone_?"

"I'm the son of a marine, what did you expect?"

"Right," Midoriya said with a blush, obviously wanting to move on with the story, "so anyways, I ate the hair and we did a few hours of training and he gives me a few warnings about the power, which, in retrospect, I probably should have paid more attention to."

Allen winced, "Okay, I think I'm starting to get the picture of what happened here."

Midoriya grimaced, "Yeah, so after a while, I asked him if I could try using the quirk, and he said yes, as long as I was careful." He sighed, "Unfortunately, my only image of the quirk at the time was when he used it to save Bakugo from the Sludge villain, you know…" Midoriya vaguely waved his hands around.

"When he threw a punch so freaking hard that it changed the weather?" Allen finished the statement for him—that wasn't the kind of display of power that anybody was going to be forgetting about anytime soon.

"Yeah, that. When I summoned the quirk, my arm felt hot, like bottled lightning was running through it, but I focused as hard as I could on what All Might told me about using it, I aimed my fist at the ocean, clenched my butthole tight—"

"Heh. _"_ Allen snickered.

"—and yelled 'SMASH' from the bottom of my heart…the result was honestly amazing. The wind pressure from my fist alone sent a 3 meter wide trench into the ocean for at least a hundred meters, but when I looked down at my arm…" Midoriya grimaced at the memory.

"It looked like a bloody rubber chicken?" Allen suggested.

Midoriya's eye twitched at the unflattering comparison, but nodded, "Not exactly how I would of put it, but that about describes it. I passed out from the pain pretty soon after that, and by the time I woke up, I was in a hospital bed with my arm in a cast."

"Well I suppose that means that you don't have any training today right?" Allen asked hopefully, "We haven't hung out outside of school in months and to be honest, I _really_ need your help with Japanese Literature…and math…and history…and science…actually, pretty much everything but English."

Midoriya shifted his gaze away momentarily, trying to crush his sense of guilt at not being too busy to make time for his best friend. "Yeah," he replied, "I'm going with All Might to see some specialist tomorrow, but I can help you out today at least."

Allen beamed, oblivious to Midoriya's pity party, "Awesome! I really appreciate it dude! I might be great when it comes to punching stuff, but I'm hopeless at this school stuff without your help!"

At that Midoriya hung his head even further in guilt over not being there for his friend. "Y-yeah, sorry I haven't been able to help you or hang out the last couple of months. I've been kind of a crappy friend lately, huh?"

Allen gave Midoriya a confused look, before noticing the downcast expression on his face. "Really?" He asked, "Are you seriously beating yourself up over being too busy to help me with my homework? You've been getting personal training from _All Might himself_ , so that you don't _blow your limbs off_!" Allen shook his head and gestured at Midoriya's broken arm, "And for good reason, obviously. Don't get me wrong—the whole grades thing is a total bummer, and it sucks that we haven't been able to hang out or spar lately, but I'm not so selfish that I don't see that what you are doing is way more important."

"You aren't upset that I basically abandoned you to focus on my own dreams?" Midoriya asked before taking a deep breath, preparing himself to say something that he obviously didn't want to even consider, "I've seen your grades, Allen. If you don't start doing better fast, you won't even qualify to _attempt_ the entrance exam for Yuuei." He hung his head, "Heroes are supposed to help people. How am I supposed to take up the torch for the greatest hero if I don't even help my friends when they need me?"

Allen frowned, trying to ignore his wounded pride and focus on the issue at hand. "Jeez man, that's a hell of a lot of pressure that you are putting on yourself there—I don't want you feeling like you are the one responsible for my success or failure—I need help, sure, but whether I do this or not is on me in the end."

"It's just how I feel, I can't help that." Midoriya replied, "I want us to become heroes together, like we always said we would, and if I have to cut back on my training with All Might to do it, then that's what I'll do!"

Allen opened his mouth to protest, but his words died in his throat when he saw the same determined look in his friend's eyes that he had whenever he talked about becoming a hero—Allen knew his friend well enough to know that as flaky as Midoriya could seem at times, he was a stubborn bastard at heart and that nothing Allen said would dissuade him from his decision. Not that he even wanted to—Midoriya was right, if Allen didn't shape up quick then he would be taking the exam alone.

"All right," Allen conceded, "thanks man."

Midoriya used his good hand to wave off the thanks, "Don't worry about it. Now can we _please_ go inside? It's cold out here and neither of us have our coats." As if to punctuate his statement, both boys were struck by an icy gust of winter wind, making them both shiver.

"Y-yeah," Allen agreed, teeth chattering, "that's p-p-probably a g-good idea."

(Yuuei Examination Center, Day of the Entrance Exams)

The next four months passed by in the blink of an eye in Allen's mind, and before he knew it, the Sakura trees were in full bloom and he and Midoriya were walking towards the exam center, each a bundle of nerves, albeit for different reasons. Midoriya had made good on his promise to help Allen pull up his grades to the point where he could take the exam, but it had been a close thing—six months of failing grades and falling behind had done a lot of damage. In his own way, Midoriya was as harsh of a taskmaster as Allen's father—relentlessly drilling Allen in math, science, literature, history and quirk law until the American boy could recite the most important relevant details off of the top of his head.

Despite this, Allen couldn't help but agonize over the results of the academic portion of the exam that they had completed the previous day. Although he had at least been able to write down an answer for every question—a vast improvement over his last attempt at the mock exam, where large swaths of the paper remained blank—Allen vowed to absolutely blow the practical portion out of the water in order to maximize his chances of passing.

Midoriya on the other hand, had breezed through the academic portion—thanks in large part to his tutoring of Allen—but his confidence did not extend to the practical. When he had told All Might his decision to cut back on training to help Allen, the number one hero had understood, and even congratulated for his loyalty to his friend, but warned him that his control over One For All would suffer as a result. As it was, Midoriya could only channel about 8% of his potential power to a limb without inflicting dire injuries on himself. To make matters worse, consciously limiting himself in that way took nearly all of his concentration—any slip in focus would inevitably lead to the same result as his first disastrous use of the quirk all of those months ago.

"Well," Allen said, defeated by his physical need to break the silence, even if it was to state the obvious "here we are. We're ready for this, right?"

"I—" whatever Midoriya was going to say, Allen never found out, because he was cut off by the angry voice of his least favorite person in the world.

"Get the fuck out of my way, Deku, dumbass! I'll kill you!" Allen and Midoriya turned to see Bakugo standing behind them, in all of his perpetually angry glory.

Still as skittish around Bakugo as ever, Midoriya quickly stepped aside, holding his hands out like a shield, "H-hey Kacchan," Midoriya stammered, "g-good morning! G-good luck with the t-test."

Allen on the other hand, splayed his stance, crossed his arms and stayed where he was, "Plenty of room on the road, Bakugo," he said with open contempt in his voice, "how about you walk around us like a normal person."

Bakugo merely scoffed and stormed past them, purposely bumping his shoulder into Allen's as he walked by, "I'm looking forward to seeing your faces when you fail, dumbass." He spat, "this is a place for the elite, not quirkless losers or barely literate retards like you!"

"Asshole," Allen grumbled, interacting with Bakugo always left a bad taste in his mouth, "how the hell is a rotten bastard like that going to be a hero?" The most galling thing was that Allen knew Bakugo was practically guaranteed to get in—the boy was simply too smart and talented to fail.

"Let's just get going," Midoriya replied with a downcast expression—for reasons that Allen would never understand, Bakugo's opinion still mattered to him, and his cruel dismissals of his worth cut him deeply every time, "we don't want to be late." The boys continued their march towards the center in a dead silence; Allen was fuming from their encounter with Bakugo, while Midoriya was intensely focused on his test anxiety—neither really paying attention to anything but their thoughts.

Their lack of attention to their surroundings came back to bite them when Midoriya tripped over his own feet and toppled over. His face was heading towards the concrete and since his hands were tangled in his backpack straps, he was unable to break his fall. Allen was too late to move to catch his friend, so caught up was he in his thoughts. Luckily for Midoriya, however, his tumble came to an abrupt end when small, feminine hands reached out and grabbed him and he began floating in midair.

"Eh?" Midoriya said, simultaneously relieved that he wouldn't be taking the test with a busted up face and confused as to what had just happened. Ignoring how strange this was, Allen took the opportunity to properly orient his friend, who was suddenly weightless, before he and Midoriya turned to address his savior, a pretty smiling girl with rosy cheeks and pads on her fingertips.

"Sorry about using my quirk on you without permission," she said, pressing her hands together in a gesture that resembled a prayer, "but I think it would have been a bad omen if you had tripped before the test, don't you?"

Midoriya's face lit up like a bonfire at the sight of the girl. "Huh? Ahh…uh…" he stammered, Allen had to look away to hide his grin at how flustered his buddy had become.

"I'm so nervous!" The girl babbled on, oblivious to the fact that Midoriya's brain was going into meltdown in front of her, "I bet you are too! Anyways, I better get inside, good luck!" she said giving a little wave before running off into the building.  
Now that she was gone, Allen let out the laughter he had been holding in at the expense of his frozen friend, his bad mood thoroughly banished by the random event and the bizarre expression on Midoriya's face. He nudged Midoriya with his elbow, snapping him out of his blissful reverie. "Dang, she was pretty cute, huh?" Allen needled his friend, causing his face to light up again, "You should have talked to her, or thanked her for saving you at least! Who knows, you might have been able ask her out on a date as 'thanks'."

"W-w-what! I couldn't do that!" Midoriya stammered with the exact horrified tone and expression one would use if he had just been asked to eat a baby.

"Why not?" Allen asked, "Worst she could do is say no, and even if she did, I doubt that anyone nice enough to save a random stranger from falling over would mean about it."

"I just can't, okay!" Midoriya snapped, visibly annoyed, "I've got more important things to worry about right now anyways!"

"Jeez, fine." Allen said, "I was just making a suggestion, no need to bite my head off about it."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to snap." Midoriya apologized looking genuinely contrite, "Let's just go inside, okay? We have to be in our seats in five minutes." Allen checked his watch, agreed, and the two boys climbed the stairs and made their way into the testing center.

Allen realized that he probably looked like an idiot as he was gaping at both the size of the auditorium as well as the sheer number people gathered there in the hopes of winning a coveted spot at the prestigious academy. The room was buzzing with the excited chatter of the prospective heroes as he and Midoriya fought to find their assigned seats in the crowded room. "I knew that we were going to have a ton of competition but this is ridiculous," Allen said, "there must be thousands of people here!"

"Allen, look!" Midoriya exclaimed, pointing at a couple of open seats, "that's our row!"

"Well all right then!" Allen replied with a grin, "Lead the way! I want to get this show on the road!" Now that they had their destination in sight, it didn't take long for the two of them to make their way over to the open seats, and to Allen's great displeasure, perched in the seat next to their assigned chair was the familiar scowling form of Bakugo.

"What the fuck are you two asswipes doing here?" he growled, exuding an air of danger and violence that made other test takers instinctively shy away. "Go sit somewhere else, I'm worried that your stupidity might be contagious."

' _Why am I not surprised?_ ' Allen thought, face deadpan, ' _Out if all of the thousands of people to sit next to, it had to be this prick!'_ "Bite me Bakugo," he replied, taking his seat next to the disagreeable boy, "they're assigned seats. If I could sit literally _anywhere_ else, you can bet your ass I would. I know that you're allergic to acting like a decent person, but for the sake of everyone else here, could you shut your rotten trap for once?"

"Whatever." Bakugo rolled his eyes, but if he was going to add anything else, he lost his chance when the auditorium lights suddenly dimmed and the stage lit up.

Standing on the stage was a behind a large podium being the UA symbol was a blond man in a biker outfit with sunglasses, a speaker system around his neck and a hairdo that had to have been supported by an entire can of hairspray. "All right everybody!" he exclaimed at a crazy volume, "Welcome to my live show! Can everybody say HEY!" he held a hand to his ear egging on the crowd to get engaged.

"HEY!" Allen cheered as loud as he could. He was on his feet, completely swept up by the energy and enthusiasm of the announcer. He then took a look around at the dead silent auditorium. Everyone was staring at him as if he had lost his mind—he had literally been the only one to respond to the call. "OH YOU ALL SUCK!" Allen shouted at the crowd as he retook his seat, face red with embarrassment.

"Dumbass." Bakugo snorted.

"Asshole!" Allen shot back.

"Guys, stop." Midoriya pleaded, pinching his nose and obviously sick of their constant bickering.

"YEEEEEAH!" the announcer shouted, pointing at Allen with a wild grin and continuing on like nothing had happened, "I've got shivers down my spine, too, listeners! All right examinees, I'm about to give you all the low down on how this is gonna go down!"

"Oh my god," Midoriya whispered to Allen, "it's the voice-type hero Present Mic! I listen to his radio show every week! The lecturers at Yuuei really _are_ pro heroes!"

"Shut it!" Bakugo growled, "I'm trying to listen!"

"Eat a dick, Bakugo." Allen retorted, not willing to give him the last word, even when he wasn't involved.

"The fuck did you just say to—"

"Now pay close attention listeners!" Present Mic shouted over Bakugo's indignant response, "We'll be testing your mettle by running a ten minute practice run at our replica city district! You can take whatever you like! If you take a look at your handout, you'll see a letter next to your serial number marking your designated area! You have thirty minutes after the presentation to meet at your area, you dig?"

"Hmph," Bakugo snorted, glancing at the infographic behind Present Mic, "I guess they don't intend on letting friends or classmates cooperate. Bad luck for you, huh Deku? Now your retard friend can't save you like always." Bakugo shot Allen a nasty smirk.

"It is too bad," Allen agreed, "but I guess it has to be a rule for people like you, considering the fact that you don't actually have any friends."

"We'll be sprinkling a large number of "villains" over the battlefield," Present Mic said, pointing at the screen behind him that was illuminated with the images of three enemies from the old Mario games, "and they'll appear in three different varieties! Using each of your individual quirks, try to dispatch as many as you can! Your goal, dear listeners, is to rack up the high score! And don't even think about attacking any other competitors or any other nasty anti-hero stuff" Bakugo let out a disappointed scoff, "because that's against the rules, understand?"

"Excuse me!" a voice belonging to a tall boy with glasses boomed out from a few rows behind them, "May I ask a question? On the handout, there are clearly four types of villains listed! Such an error would be the height of embarrassment for a top-tier national academy of Yuuei's caliber! The reason we are seated here today is because we seek guidance on the path to becoming model heroes!"

"Damn," Allen muttered, "that kid needs to get laid or something." For once, Bakugo looked like he agreed with him, not that he'd say it in a million years.

"Moreover," he shouted, "what's with you?" Allen glanced around, looking to see where the uptight sounding kid was pointing before realizing that he was the one being singled out. "Yes, you! The tall blond one! Cheering like an idiot, spouting vulgar language, and you haven't stopped fighting with the one next to you since you got here! It's distracting! If you think that Yuuei is some kind of joke, than leave this place at once!"

"Well _excuse me_ , your imperial majesty," Allen replied, pissed that this guy would make light of his commitment without knowing a thing about him, "I sincerely apologize if I offended your delicate fucking sensibilities!"

"Well I never!" the boy sputtered as the crowd snickered at the byplay.

"Okay, okay!" Present Mic shouted, trying to reestablish some order over the crowd, "Thanks for the segue, much appreciated, examinee 7111! The fourth type of villain is worth zero points! It's best if you just avoid these!"

"Thank you very much!" the boy shouted, giving a deep bow, "I apologize for being rude!"

"Well, that's enough from me! Before we move on to the main event, I'll leave you with a recitation of our school's motto," Present Mic struck a dramatic pose, "Go beyond! PLUS ULTRA!"

The lights in the room came back on and the volume of the room rose to a dull roar as people began chattering excitedly about the upcoming exam. Allen looked over at Midoriya, who was trembling and holding onto his handout so tightly that his knuckles were white and the paper was crumpling.

"Hey," Allen said, putting a reassuring hand on Midoriya's shoulder, making him jump in surprise, "we got this! We've been busting our ass for the last ten months to get here, and we aren't going to fail now!"

Bakugo let out a harsh laugh, "As if, retard. You probably misspelled your own name on the test form earlier, and Deku? Look at the trembling little pansy, he looks like he's going to wet himself!" He snickered, "Hey Deku? Here's an idea—maybe if you get your piss on one of the robots they'll short out and you can get at least one point…before they smash you that is!" Bakugo continued laughing as he walked away from the pair.

"God, I hate that guy so fucking much!" Allen groused, "Don't listen to that tool! Look, you nailed the academic portion, right?"

Midoriya nodded, "I double checked the answers I remembered being unsure of when I got home. I got at least a 95."

"95? That's amazing!" Allen exclaimed, suppressing his jealousy at academic ability like that, "So how many points do you need to pass?"

"Combined with the practical test, you need a cumulative score of 120 points." Midoriya replied, "What's your point?"

Allen poked Midoriya in the chest, "Do you _really_ think that after ten months of training under you-know-who, you can't manage a measly 25 points in the practical exam? Piece of cake!"

"That's actually just the minimum cut off point." Midoriya corrected, "They only take the top thirty-six applicants."

"Bah!" Allen waved his hand, "Are you really Midoriya Izuku? Because the Midoriya I know is the guy who kept saying that he wanted to be the number one hero! Someone who saves everyone with a fearless smile on his face!" Allen shook his head, "Cause the guy I'm looking at right now looks more like a Deku, a little crybaby who can't save shit, and is just as worthless as that dickhead Bakugo always says he is! So tell me, who am I looking at? Midoriya? Or Deku?"

Midoriya's trembling stopped, and his eyes, previously twitchy and full of uncertainty, took on the determined sheen that made All Might recognize greatness in him. "My name is Midoriya," he said, a little angry.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't hear you. Did you say that you were Deku? Worthless little pissbaby?"

"I said I'm Midoriya!" He was louder now, and sounded surer of himself, "And I'm going to be the number one hero! The greatest hero!" He gave Allen a grateful smile, "Thanks man, you're actually pretty good at these inspirational speeches!"

"Nah," Allen replied, "most of that I stole from my dad. He is a marine after all."

"You keep saying that as if it means something to me," Midoriya complained, "but I have no idea what the American military is like! I'm Japanese!"

"Okay, A. Not the point, and B. It's sort of like the movies, but harder." Allen said, moving past that. "'Are you feeling ready?' Is what I'm trying to ask."

"Yeah," Midoriya replied, "I think I am. As ready as I can be anyways."

"Let's get going then! The next time we see each other, we are going to be Yuuei students!"

Character Info:

Allen Martin

Age: 14-15 (At Yuuei Exam)

Quirk Type: Emitter

Name: Fast Forward

This quirk allows the user to speed up their body's "time" and move at what seem to be incredible speeds. When activated, the world moves in slow motion compared to the user. Mental and physical fatigue stacks with the amplification effect, so every action Allen takes with his quirk active will tire him out several times quickly as doing it normally. For example, if he could normally run 10 miles without stopping to rest, he could only run 5 miles at 2X or 2.5 miles at 4X and so on.

Chris Martin

Age: 36

Quirk Type: Mutant

Name: Lightning Reflexes

This quirk increases the synaptic response time and reflexes of the user by a factor of 10, allowing him to see and react to things 10 times faster than a normal human. Despite his average IQ, his cognition speed is also much faster than normal too. A secondary effect of this quirk is unusually dense and powerful fast-twitch muscles, which allow his body to keep up with his mind. Because his quirk is always active, he can be rather impatient.

 **AN: And here we go, chapter 2 rewrite is done. Added on a bit of extra writing, reworded things, and fixed typos, nothing too dramatic. Please, leave a review and let me know what you think. I'll be starting work on chapter 20 shortly.**


	3. Pass or Fail!

Chapter 3: Pass or Fail! The Value of Self-Sacrifice!

Allen knew he had a bit of an arrogant streak. He also had a bad habit of running his mouth in the heat of the moment, but he felt like had a fairly realistic outlook on his abilities. In his area of expertise, he was a formidable guy and he knew it.

Once he had really hit his growth spurt in earnest, Allen's father had occasionally pitted him against the marines seeking to learn from the combat expert in order to build up his confidence. When the full-grown soldiers learned that they would be fighting a 15-year old, the most common initial reaction was incredulous laughter. However, their mocking jibes didn't last long when they stepped onto the mat with Allen. Instead of spending a few minutes knocking around a scrawny, awkward kid out of his depth, they found themselves matched against an 185cm tall, 72kg ball of athleticism and honed martial skill.

Thanks to this draconian training, Allen entered the test with a deeply ingrained confidence that he could take on just about anyone below the level of a pro in a fight and reasonably expect to win—provided, of course, that they didn't have some overwhelmingly powerful quirk or one that effectively rendered martial arts useless, like being made of metal.

It was this little addendum to Allen's confidence in his fighting prowess that had him silently panicking as he sat on the crowded bus on its way to his testing site. He had put on a brave face earlier to reassure his friend, because he fully believed that Midoriya would be able to pull some kind of clever plan out of his butt for a win—he was crafty that way. However, Allen had doubts that his go-to strategy of "punch it, kick it, or choke it" would work against robots that were made of metal and probably weighed over 200 kg. He didn't bring any hand protection and would most likely break something if he hit something like that—not that it would do anything to the robot even if he did have protection.

After filing onto the bus, Allen took his seat and glanced around the vehicle, discretely checking out his competition. Logically, he knew that it was unlikely that everyone there had an overtly destructive quirk like Bakugo's that was practically tailor-made for this kind of test. Additionally, Present Mic had been very specific in his choice of words—he said that the examinees merely had to "disable" the faux villains to get points, not destroy them. Naturally, it stood to reason that there had to be some method of defeating the robots other than simply smashing them.

' _Okay Allen,_ ' he thought, brow furrowed in concentration, ' _THINK! How can I disable a robot without breaking it?'_ As his stress level continued to climb, he began rapidly tapping his foot and rhythmically drumming his fingers on the seat. ' _How can I disable a robot without breaking it? Hooooow can I disable a robot without breaking it?'_ Allen dropped his head into his hands and ran his fingers through his hair. _'Shit! I can't think of anything! I was counting on Midoriya to do the heavy lifting in terms of planning this out! What am I going to do?_ '

"Could you please stop fidgeting?" A monotone voice croaked at him, "You're jostling my seat."

"Eh?" Distracted from his oncoming panic attack, Allen turned to look at the person who had just spoken to him. Seated next to him was a girl with long black hair tied up in a strange sort of bow with wide round eyes, a large flat mouth and an unreadable blank expression. In the back of his mind, he noted that while she wasn't attractive in the conventional sense, she wasn't ugly either. He actually thought she was kind of cute in an odd way.

"Sorry," Allen apologized, "I'm, uh, just a bit nervous about the test. My quirk doesn't really translate well beating robots so I don't know what I'm going to do. I'm pretty strong, but I don't think can punch through metal."

The girl stared at Allen with that same expressionless face for nearly a minute without saying anything. Feeling increasingly uncomfortable under the girl's unblinking scrutiny, Allen wondered what her deal was before she put a long finger to her mouth and said, "You aren't very smart, are you?"

Allen's mouth dropped open, so taken aback was he by the blunt question—who the hell just said something like that to somebody right off the bat? "Why would you say that?" Allen asked, offended—not because she was wrong, because she wasn't and he knew it, but because she didn't know a thing about him. "You've exchanged one sentence with me! How could you possibly get the impression that I'm stupid from that?"

The girl stared at Allen for a few long seconds before pulling out the handout covering the practical exam that had been handed out to every applicant and pointed to a particular section detailing the faux villains that they would be facing.

"It says right here that each of the robots have a big red shut-off switch on their body." She croaked out in that same monotone, "Neglecting to read all of the instructions for the test doesn't seem like something a smart person would do."

Allen flushed, his face crimson with embarrassment. In all of the excitement, he _had_ neglected to read the entirety of the handout. He only had the time to barely glance at the pictures of the robots before he had gotten sucked into bickering with Bakugo and never looked at the paper again. "Okay, I guess you got me there." he admitted, "That _was_ pretty stupid. Thanks for pointing it out for me, I really owe you one…uh…" Allen trailed off, realizing that he had never gotten the girl's name.

"Asui Tsuyu," she said, "and don't worry about it. Helping people out is what heroes do."

"Well, Asui-san," Allen replied with a slight bow, opting to be much more respectful in his form of address than he usually bothered with, "thank you anyways. Hero or not, I bet that most of the people here would have kept that information to themselves for the competitive edge." Allen extended his hand with a beaming smile. "My name's Allen, by the way, Allen Martin. It's nice to meet you."

Asui stared at the offered hand for a few seconds before grasping it with her own and giving it a firm shake. Allen found her skin to be smooth, slightly sticky and moist—but not unpleasantly so. "Likewise," she replied, although her tone and face gave no indication if she were being genuine or not, "and you can call me Tsu-chan."

"Tsu-chan, then." Allen agreed, willing to call her whatever she wanted—as far as he was concerned, she had just saved his bacon. Allen figured that he would have eventually clued in about the shut-off switches through observation, but by the time he put the pieces together it might have been too late to get the kind of score he needed to have a chance of passing.

For the remainder of the bus ride, Allen spent his time attempting to get to know Asui. She was a quiet girl, and seemed content to mostly listen to him at first, but he was persistent in his attempts to involve her in the conversation and managed to drag some basic info out of her, like her quirk, some of her favorite heroes, and her hometown. Before they knew it, the bus pulled up outside the massive gate of an enclosed urban simulation area that was a full-scale replica of several city blocks.

At the sight of such an extravagant testing center, most of the gathered students wondered just how deep Yuuei's pockets had to be to afford facilities like this, seeing as they had basically created an entire town for the express purpose of being regularly destroyed. Allen just thought that it was awesome.

"This is the coolest thing I've ever seen!" He crowed, drawing attention to himself with his exuberance, "I have _definitely_ got to get into this school if this is the kind of stuff I have to look forward to!" Allen had already been determined to succeed, but the quality of the testing site definitely drove home the point that UA was the country's undisputed number one hero school for a _reason._

' _If I want to be a hero who can stand on the same stage as the greats, it has to be UA.'_ Allen cracked his knuckles. _'It's do or die here. Let's do this shit. Oorah motherfucker.'_

The crowd of prospective heroes was caught off guard when the gates swung open without warning and Present Mic's voice sounded out "AAAAAND START!"

"Huh?" One of the examinees said, confused.

"What are you waiting for?" Present Mic yelled, manically waving them inside, "Do you think that there is a countdown in a real battle? GO GO GO GO GO!"

With a panicked clamor, the examinees simultaneously exploded into action. In their haste to be the first through the doors, the crowd jammed together and began shoving and fighting each other for access to the testing center. For better or worse, Allen had never been one to hesitate, and it paid off for him here. By the time the first 'GO' had passed Present Mic's lips, he had already activated his quirk to its 2X level and been on the move. In doing so, he avoided the crush of people at the entrance, and managed to put a fair amount of distance between him and the competition. It didn't take more than a few seconds of running through the empty streets of the test area before Allen spotted his first villain robot.

" _Okay,_ " Allen thought as the large green machine with a large "1" painted on its side rolled towards him in what looked like slow motion to his eyes, " _Tsu-chan said that they all had a big red shut-off switch on them._ " He noticed the big red circle in the middle of its face that resembled an eye, " _I'm going to go out on a limb here and assume that that's the shut off switch."_

Allen decided to test his theory by sprinting forward, ducking the slow, wide swing of the lumbering machine and hitting his target with a single sift palm strike before darting away. Unable to help himself, Allen spared a moment to grin triumphantly when the robot crashed to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut.

He didn't have much time to revel in his success, however, as another five robots rounded a street corner and began barreling towards him. " _Good."_ He thought, increasing his speed to 4X in his excitement and shutting them all down within seconds.

' _Let's see…that's 3…5…7…uh…shit."_ His brain stuttered from the effort of trying to add up his point total while also keeping track of what was going on around him and promptly gave up. ' _A lot—it's a lot of points. Not nearly enough though. I gotta keep 'em coming! Need to keep moving and score big if I want to make up for the academic exam!"_

Deciding that it would serve him better to focus on taking out as many enemies as he could rather than keeping track of his score, robot after robot fell by Allen's hand. Without any concept of how much he needed to do to pass, he continued to push himself harder and harder, rarely leaving his more exhausting 4X state and darting around the chaotic battlefield without pause.

In the thick of the action, Allen quickly discovered that the robots themselves were of little threat to him—their attacks were slow and predictable even without accounting for Allen's enhanced reflexes and perception. The true danger came from his fellow competitors. While they had been expressly forbidden from purposely attacking each other, Allen was willing to bet that by the time the exam ended, the vast majority of the injuries caused during the exam were the result of friendly fire.

The smarter examinees that had the good sense to make a beeline for the intersections where there was enough room to maneuver had a better chance of avoiding crossfire. For the ones who didn't think it through, or were unlucky enough to get trapped, the two-lane streets and alleyways of the replica city quickly became a bottlenecked cluster fuck of panicked wannabe heroes blindly firing off their quirks in a high-pressure situation.

Unfortunately for Allen, he was _not_ one of the smarter examinees. Rather than simply going to a central location and allowing the enemies to come to him—as Bakugo was currently doing with great success in another area—Allen spent most of his time in the more confined areas of the exam area due to his more inefficient tactic of moving street by street in search of enemies. Thanks to his quirk, Allen's inferior method of point farming didn't harm him too badly in terms of his score, but it did have another effect. Eight and a half minutes into the exam, Allen had thoroughly exhausted himself, mentally and physically.

Unable to keep moving, Allen deactivated his quirk and stumbled into an alleyway for cover desperately drawing air into his lungs. Willing himself to not hyperventilate and pass out, Allen leaned against a wall to stay on his feet and fought the wave of nausea rolling over him.

' _I'm so goddamn stupid!"_ Allen mentally berated himself, too exhausted to speak out loud. ' _I should have rested sooner!'_ His legs were trembling, burning and cramping from the excess of lactic acid that had built up at accelerated rates as a side effect of his quirk. _'I'm so tired that it's too dangerous for me to keep going. Goddamn it! I should have been prepared for this!'_

Despite his body type being one that favored muscle mass and strength, Allen had entirely cut strength training from his regimen leading up to the exam for the purpose of maximizing the effectiveness of his quirk. Due to Fast Forward's fatigue multiplication effect, the bulkier he was, the harder using his quirk would be on him. Thus, the majority of his conditioning had been with cardiovascular and muscular endurance in mind. With a high level of physical activity at the lowest level of activation, Allen could easily use his quirk for up to thirty minutes before reaching a state of acute exhaustion. If he took periodic breaks to recover, he could continue using his quirk almost indefinitely.

However, in his blind desperation to rack up points and pass the exam, he'd run himself face first into the proverbial wall. The physical stress caused by the combination of extended use of higher levels of his quirk, running around at full speed while dodging the flying debris caused by robots exploding left and right, pushing oblivious people out of the path of poorly aimed lasers, razor sharp quills, globs of burning tar and acid, as well as the addition of the mental stress of the high-stakes situation had pushed the teen to the brink. He simply had nothing left to give.

As the depth of his folly began to sink in, Allen couldn't help but recall the lesson that his father had tried to impress upon him again and again. " _In a fight, you have to keep calm and be patient. If controlled, emotions like frustration, desperation, and the desire to win can push you beyond your natural limits, but if you allow them to control you, they'll only make you reckless and lead you to defeat."_

In the distance, Present Mic shouted out a one-minute warning. ' _No, I can't quit yet!_ ' Allen raged, gritting his teeth in order to stop panting and breathe through his nose. ' _I've got to keep going! I haven't been keeping track of how many points I've got, but whatever it is, it isn't enough to be sure! I might not be able to use my quirk, but as long as I'm still conscious, I can still move, SO MOVE DAMMIT!'_

Using his arms to push himself off of the wall, Allen managed to take several staggering steps forward before his legs gave out on him. Knocking over a trashcan in a desperate, but failed attempt to keep on his feet, Allen collapsed at the mouth of the alleyway.

' _No! Get up, you idiot!'_ The image of Bakugo's sneering face appeared in his mind as Allen mentally pleaded for his limbs to cooperate. ' _Come ON! I can't let that fucking bastard be right about me because I made a stupid mistake! I won't! I absolutely fucking refuse!"_ Nearby, Allen heard the distinctive rumbling sound of one of the robots rolling down the street.

"30 SECONDS!" Present Mic yelled, his powerful voice drowning out the chaos.

' _See!'_ He bargained with himself, ' _There's one nearby! I can still prove that asshole wrong! I can still get a few more points! Just one more! All I have to do is stand up and move! COME ON!"_

Try as he might, Allen could not force his limbs to obey—his body had checked out and no amount of rage would allow him to remain standing. " _Please!_ " Allen silently begged, frustrated tears stinging his eyes, " _I just need a few more seconds of strength!_ "

"5 SECONDS!"

There was a loud crash, and a nearby voice cried out in pain. Allen's head snapped up at the sound and he witnessed Asui stumble past him. Her hand was pressed tightly against the side of her head, staunching the blood from a fresh wound. Badly dazed by a flying piece of debris, the girl was completely unaware of the 3-point robot bearing down on her at top speed. The exam wouldn't end in time to prevent her from being hit. He had to do something, or she could end up badly hurt.

Drawing strength from a well that had seemed all but tapped out, Allen activated his quirk to 4X and exploded off the ground. In a blur of motion, Allen stumbled mid-stride and slammed into the robot at top speed. Ignoring the unsettling sound of something crack, he tapped the shut-off switch and pushed himself away from the machine in one motion. With the momentum from his full force push, he tackled Asui out of the way of the deactivated machine before it toppled over.

' _That's good,'_ he thought, vision fading, ' _I got one more, just like I said…'_ The last thing Allen heard before he passed out was the buzzer signifying the end of the exam.

(A few hours later)

When Allen regained his consciousness, the first thing he noticed that he hurt—a lot. "Owww," he croaked weakly, doing a fair but unintentional impression of Asui, "this…is the worst…pain."

"Hmph!" He heard a voice to his right say, "I should say so! Cracked ribs, torn muscles, on top of the worst case of exercise-induced acute exhaustion that I've seen in 15 years! Not to mention the fact your heart was beating so fast when we got to you that I was afraid that you'd go into cardiac arrest!"

"Oh." Allen replied. He wasn't sure how to respond to that other than, "That sucks."

A tiny old lady in a white lab coat walked in front of Allen's bed. "Indeed." She replied dryly. "Under normal circumstances, I would have been able to heal your injuries and send you on your way home by now, but you were already so exhausted that I had to go easy on the treatments. I'm going to keep you overnight for observation."

That sounded okay to Allen. He was still so exhausted that he had absolutely no desire to leave the comfort of his hospital bed. A thought came to him. "Hey, uh, Ms…?"

"Dr., actually, but you can just call me Recovery Girl. I'm the resident medic here at UA."

"Right…thanks. Quick question: when you found me, was there a girl named Asui Tsuyu there? She was a mutant type—really short, long black hair. How is she?"

Recovery Girl thought for a second, "Asui…Asui…ah, yes. She's fine. I treated her for a mild concussion and a few other scrapes but she was fine. Why do you ask?"

Allen smiled weakly at the good news. "That's a relief. She really helped me a out earlier, so I wanted to make sure she was okay."

For the first time since he had met her, Recovery Girl smiled. "I see. You also had someone ask after you as well. And I must say, after meeting you I can see why you two are friends."

Allen furrowed his brow, wondering who would ask about him before realizing the obvious. "Midoriya! How is he? He make it out of the test okay then?"

Recovery Girl scowled, "No, he's just like you! A reckless idiot who got carried away! The fool broke both of his legs and his right arm! I was able to mostly heal him up and send him home, though his arm will be in a cast for about a week."

Allen's mouth dropped open in horror, "How the hell did he manage to do that?"

"How else? Being a hero. Now go back to sleep!" Recover Girl ordered, "I need you nice and rested up so I can get you all of the treatment you need tomorrow!"

"Yes ma'am." Allen acquiesced, too tired to press the issue. He figured that he could just grill Midoriya for the details tomorrow.

(Midoriya's Apartment Complex)

One week after the test, Allen knocked on the door to his friend's apartment. He was worried because Midoriya had failed to answer any of his texts and decided to check on him in person. Besides, he didn't have anything better to do until the test results came in.

After a moment of waiting outside, Midoriya's mother, Inko, answered the door. "Oh! Hello there Allen-kun!" She exclaimed with a big smile, "I wasn't expecting you! What brings you by?"

Allen smiled back at the matronly woman. She had initially been quite wary of Allen when she had first met him—his size, boisterous manner of speaking that skirted the edge of rudeness, and the nasty rumors surrounding him made her worry that he was a bad influence on her son. However, as time went on and he demonstrated his defensive and unwavering loyalty to the formerly quirkless boy time and again, she began to think of him as sort of a second son.

"I'm here to see Izuku, Midoriya-san," Allen replied, making the woman squeak in surprise as he pulled her in for a hug, "I heard he got hurt during the exam and he hasn't been answering my texts, so I wanted to check on him and see how he's holding up."

"Oh dear," Inko replied with a frown, "he's…well…why don't you come on in and see for yourself?" Inko led Allen into the entryway, and he removed his shoes. She then pointed him towards the TV room, where Midoriya sat in front of the TV, absently squeezing a grip trainer with his good hand and wearing a thousand-yard stare.

"He hasn't said a word since he got home from the test." Inko said with fretful tears in her eyes, "I've tried everything I can think of to get through to him, but it's like he isn't even there!"

Allen rubbed his chin for a moment. He grinned, "I think I know what to do to snap him out of it, Midoriya-san." He lowered his voice to a whisper, "Do you have a paper bag I can borrow?"

Inko looked confused at the odd request, but nodded and fetched a bag out of one of the kitchen drawers. She handed it to Allen, who opened it up, blew into it and twisted the end to form a seal. Inko's eyes widened in realization of what Allen was about to do and covered her mouth to smother a giggle when Allen gave her a wink and crept up behind his catatonic friend, held the bag near his head and slapped it as hard as he could.

~BANG~!

Startled, Midoriya leapt nearly half a meter in the air off of the couch. "GAH! _What the hell_?" He turned around to see Allen snickering and his mother covering her mouth to hide her amusement as well. "That wasn't funny!" He protested, "You can damage someone's hearing doing that!"

"It was a little funny." Allen countered with a grin, "Also, I've seen the volume that you listen to your music at—if you're so worried about hearing damage, address that first." Allen made his way over to the couch and sat next to Midoriya. "Your mom said that you've been out of it since you got home from the test, and you haven't answered any of my texts. What's up?"

Midoriya looked away, "I don't want to talk about it." He muttered.

Allen crossed his arms. "Okay, I can understand that. But in the interest of saving time, how about we skip to the part where you tell me anyways, because I'm nosy and you know that I'm going to keep annoying you until you do."

Midoriya sighed, "Long story short, I let my instincts override my judgment and I didn't get enough points to pass."

"Good start." Allen allowed, "But you know I want more details than that."

"Well, you know how the test began with no warning?" Allen nodded, prompting Midoriya to continue. "I was lost in thought, and got a late start—so by the time I reached the area where the action was, most of the robots nearby had already been dealt with."

Allen raised his eyebrows. "Seriously? It felt like they never stopped coming at my site, how could there not be enough robots for you to get?"

"I don't know," Midoriya replied, "my group must have just been really good or something. Anyways, despite not having very many robots, I still managed to rack up 22 points by hitting the shut-off switches."

"That's how I got them too." Allen said, "I was wondering if you knew that they had those."

Midoriya gave Allen an odd look, "Of course I knew, it was on the handout they gave us. I read it while you were busy arguing with Kacchan." Allen flushed and averted his eyes, choosing not to reveal that someone had to fill him in concerning that particular weakness. He prompted Midoriya to continue with his story.

"I was sitting at 22 points, I knew I needed only a few more for a pass. With only about a minute left, the zero-point robot shows up and wrecks a bunch of the buildings."

"Oh yeah, the one that Present Mic told us that we should just avoid. I never saw it during my exam. What was it like?"

Midoriya shuddered just remembering it, "It was huge. Easily over 10 meters tall…it just smashed its way through the buildings like they were made of paper."

"Damn." Allen frowned. "That sort of thing could easily kill someone. What were they thinking putting an enemy like that in a test?"

"That's what I thought!" Midoriya said, "At the sight of it, everybody in the area started running like crazy to get away. I noticed a couple of point robots left behind and started running towards them to get them, but…" He trailed off.

"But what?" Allen asked, curious.

Midoriya blushed, "You remember the girl who stopped me from falling outside of the auditorium?"

Allen thought for a second before snapping his fingers, "Oh yeah! The super cute one who I told you to ask out!"

Midoriya flushed again at the reminder, but otherwise kept his composure, "W-well, she was in my test group, and I saw that in the chaos, her leg had gotten trapped underneath some rubble."

"And let me guess," Allen said, comprehension dawning, "you gave up on the points to save the girl and trashed both of your legs and your arm in the process?"

Midoriya hung his head, "Yeah. I found out later that there had been safeguards in place to prevent her from getting too badly hurt, but in the moment, I completely forgot about my promises to you and All Might and dropped everything to get myself hurt in an ultimately pointless move."

"Maybe," Allen replied, "but the Midoriya I know wouldn't leave anybody hanging just so he could pass a stupid test. I know you, and I know that if you had left her behind to get those robots, even if she ended up being fine in the end, you would never have forgiven yourself."

"Maybe you're right," Midoriya said quietly, "But now I'll never know."

"Pfft." Allen dismissed his friend's mopey pessimism. "What-the-fuck-ever, dude. This doesn't mean that you can't be a hero. There's still Shiketsu and a bunch of other great hero schools. And no matter what my results are, I promise that I'm with you all the way!"

"Thanks Allen." Midoriya said, wiping his eyes and clearly trying to not cry, "Why are you so insistent on doing this with me, though? If you got into UA I wouldn't want you to turn it down just for me."

"We made a promise that we would become heroes together," Allen replied, "I intend to honor that promise. Ever since I could walk, my dad has told me that a man's worth is measured by his ability to keep his word. Now get dressed. We're going out."

"No way! The results are coming in tonight! I wanna be here when they come in! I need to see it for myself!" Midoriya protested as Allen bullied his protesting friend towards his room.

"It'll be here when you get back. Now march! We're going to the mall so you can fail at hitting on girls!"

"WHAT!" Midoriya yelped, "I can't just walk up to some random stranger and do that! And why do you assume I'll fail?"

"You can and you will." Allen's voice held no compromise as he borrowed the tone that his father used when barking orders at him, "You're never going to get a girlfriend if you freeze up like a deer at the thought of talking to a girl."

"You've never had a girlfriend either! _Stop pushing me!_ "

"The girls at our middle school also think that Bakugo is cool. Obviously they have terrible taste and aren't worth my time." With one last push, Allen drove his smaller friend into his bedroom and shut the door. "You have five minutes. I'll be waiting out here."

"Going to fail at hitting on girls, huh?" Allen turned to see Inko standing there with her hands on her hips, looking conflicted as to whether she should be amused by the whole situation or putting a stop to it. "What have I told you about corrupting Izuku?"

"Don't do it?" Allen asked.

"Don't do it." She reiterated, before letting out a sigh and smiling, "Just be back here by six. I'll make dinner for you too and you can stay the night if you want. Also, thank you."

Allen rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, "Nah, I'm just doing what anyone would do. Midoriya is a good guy. He shouldn't have to deal with all of the crap he gets."

"Regardless, thank you, Allen-kun." Inko gave a minute sniff, like her son, she had a tendency to wear her emotions on her sleeve. "You've been a good friend to my son. It means a lot, especially now."

"Okay…I'm ready." Midoriya grumbled as he walked out of his room wearing a simple pair of cargo shorts with a green hoodie, "I still want to go on record as saying that I'm not comfortable with this." He looked up and saw his mother with restrained tears and Allen looking embarrassed. "What's going on here?"

"Nothing Izuku." Inko said, wiping her eyes. "Go and have fun with your friend. He's right; sitting here waiting for the results won't make them come any faster. I'll call you when they get here."

With her blessing, the two boys headed out to the nearby shopping district. Dragged along and with significant prodding from Allen, Midoriya actually managed to hold a conversation with another girl his age and her friend. It helped that she was wearing an All Might T-shirt, providing a comfortable topic of conversation for the awkward teen. When they got the text informing them that the results had arrived and they had to leave, Allen tried to push Midoriya to get the girl's number, but proved to be a bit too much for him. Still, Midoriya seemed much more at ease with the idea of talking with girls and so Allen felt satisfied.

Opting to go straight home to get his results instead of taking up Inko on her offer to stay the night, Allen eagerly tore open the manila envelope containing the results of his exam. Fingers trembling with anticipation, Allen unfolded the sheet of paper that came with the envelope and read its contents:

EXAMINATION RESULTS FOR MARTIN, ALLEN

ACADEMIC EVALUATION: 62/100 MIN SCORE REQ: 60

PRACTICAL EVALUATION: 77 POINTS

VILLAIN POINTS: 42

RESCUE POINTS: 35

FINAL TALLY: 139/120

JUDGMENT: PASS

Allen threw the letter into the air with a gleeful shout, ignoring the small projection device that had fallen out of the envelope and onto the floor. He knew that he wouldn't be going if Midoriya didn't get in, but it felt good to know that he had qualified for the number one hero school regardless. Just when he felt like his mood couldn't possibly be any better, his phone buzzed in his pocket. It was a text from Midoriya, and it contained only two words: "I PASSED!"

Letting out another whoop of triumph, Allen shot back a congratulatory text and passed along his good news as well. He couldn't wipe the goofy grin off of his face for the rest of the night. Even while getting his ass handed to him in sparring, his giddy smile never dropped, creeping out his father to no end.

Starting next week, Allen was going to take his first real step towards becoming a hero.

 **AN: Rewrite is DONE son! Man, this chapter needed a lot of work. I'm legit impressed that anybody made it through this mess the first time. Let me know what you all think in the reviews. What did you like? What did you hate? Are there any typos that I missed? Until next time!**


	4. Quirk Apprehension Test

Semper Fast Ch 4

Quirk Apprehension Test

When Allen's eyes snapped open, he was greeted by total darkness. With a jaw-cracking yawn, he touched a button on his watch that cast a faint green glow, dimly illuminating the pitch black room.

Hoping that he'd be able to roll over and go back to sleep, Allen glanced at the glowing numbers displayed on the digital face and let out a groan. ' _0525\. Goddamnit,'_ he thought, ' _I hate it when I wake up right before my alarm…I could have used that extra five minutes of sleep.'_

Allen let out a resigned sigh. "Alright," he muttered, rolling out of bed, "gotta get up. Today's the day!" Preemptively shielding his eyes against the sudden shift in light level, Allen turned on the small lamp on his nightstand and immediately began making his bed.

When it came to parenting, Chris Martin's policy was simple: when in doubt, look to the military. He wasn't a crazy overbearing taskmaster, but in the Martin household, discipline didn't earn you praise—it was the bare minimum. The rules were simple: you wake up, you get up; when you get up, you make your bed immediately; take pride in your gear, your space, and yourself; and finally, if you aren't five minutes early, you're late. Allen wasn't perfect at always adhering to them—especially the last one—but for the most part, he did all right.

After fluffing and straightening his pillows, Allen was ready to check his work. Grabbing a coin from a small jar on his dresser, he flipped it into the air and watched it fall onto the mattress, making sure that it bounced high enough to pass muster in case his dad decided to do a surprise inspection. Failure to pass the coin test was punished with thirty straight minutes of suicide sprints. It hadn't taken many failed inspections for Allen to get in the habit of _really_ making sure that his room was up to snuff. Satisfied with his results, Allen dropped the coin back into the jar and went about the rest of his morning routine.

While getting ready in the bathroom, Allen ended up spending nearly twice as much time in front of the mirror as he usually did—even going so far as to sneak into his parent's bathroom and steal a dab of his father's cologne. He felt rather silly and vain in the process, but also wanted to do everything he could to be on the top of his game. He desperately wanted to make as good of a first impression as possible.

Allen didn't know if it was a result of media bias, coincidence, or it was just simply his fetish, but for some reason, every female hero he'd ever seen was attractive as hell, so it was probably a safe assumption that the girls in his class were going to be cute as well. He was a red-blooded young man with needs, and refused to spend another three years single, dammit!

' _Okay, uniform…check. Bag…check. Lunch…check. Mints…check. Notebooks, pens, pencils…check. Phone, wallet, keys…check. Weather?'_ Allen took a look at his phone, and checked the weather report—sunshine all day, ' _Weather is good. Let's do this!'_

Confident that he had everything he needed squared away, Allen kissed his mother goodbye, high-fived his dad, and stepped out into the brisk morning air with a spring in his step.

The nearest station was about a thirty minute walk from Allen's house, from there, it was another forty-five minute train ride until he arrived at the station closest to UA. It was completely dark when Allen left home, but by the time Allen finally got off the train, the sun had just begun to peek over the horizon.

When he saw an unmistakable mop of curly green hair in the crowd, a grin threatened to split Allen's cheeks, which were already aching from smiling too much. Over the course of the long commute, he'd gotten progressively more amped up about his first day of hero school and couldn't help but grin like an idiot the whole way over, nearly breaking out into giggles several times. In fact, he was fairly sure that his giddy, almost manically cheerful expression had thoroughly creeped out his fellow passengers, most of whom believed that nobody had any business being so happy that early in the morning.

"Yo Midoriya!" Allen loudly greeted Midoriya from across the platform, beaming widely as he jogging over to his friend, drawing multiple stares with his exuberance. "You ready for the first day of the rest of your life?"

Midoriya grinned back at Allen, finding his good cheer infectious. "You know it! I was so excited that I hardly got any sleep last night!"

Allen laughed, noticing the dark circles under his friend's eyes. "You look it!" He teased, pointing at the half-assed, comical attempt at a Windsor knot for the tie. "What the hell is that? Too tired to watch the two minute YouTube video on tying a tie?"

Midoriya flushed. He knew that it wasn't great, but he was so flustered and exhausted that morning that after his fifth attempt at making the knot look right, he simply gave up in disgust. "It doesn't look that bad, does it?"

"It's fucking terrible." Allen confirmed, "Unless 'circus clown' is the look you're going for, take that thing off and give it to me. I'll fix it for you."

"Thanks!" Midoriya said gratefully, removing the tie so that Allen could get it properly set up. Once he had done so, Midoriya slipped the tie back on over his head and pulled it tight. "How's it look now?"

"A thousand times better." Allen reassured him, "Let's walk. We should get there early to see who's gonna be in our class. 1-A, right?"

"Right," Midoriya confirmed, ecstatic that he was going to be in the same class as Allen. "I don't care who else is in there, just as long as it isn't Kacchan or that guy with the glasses from the test!"

"Bakugo I can see," Allen said, "but what's your problem with the glasses dude? I was the only one he was upset with, and I'm over it as long as he doesn't try to start any shit with me."

"He was at my location for the exam." Midoriya explained, "And while we were waiting, I saw that nice girl and I thought that I should take your advice and at least thank her for helping me out." Allen smirked at the mention of the girl but didn't interrupt the story, "Then he comes up from behind me out of nowhere and starts berating me for mumbling on the bus _and then_ , when he remembered that I was sitting with you and Bakugo, he accused me of being a plant who was only there to distract the other competitors! It threw me off so badly that I was almost late in responding to the start!"

"What a dick!" Allen sympathized, "But I wouldn't worry about him, what are the chances that he passed anyways? Only like 1 in 300 people got accepted."

"Probably pretty likely," Midoriya responded glumly, "I overheard him saying that he had gotten 45 points."

"Ah." Allen's expression grew crafty. He knew just how to change the subject. "I'm not sure that I really believe that you don't have any other preferences about who will be in the class, though."

"What are you talking about?" Midoriya asked warily, not liking the smug grin plastered on Allen's face.

"You sure that you don't have any opinion about a certain girl? You know, the cute one that you happened to break your arm and legs saving with your little knight in shining armor act?"

Midoriya huffed and looked away to hide the blush on his face, "I didn't save her because she's c-c-cute!" he protested, gesticulating wildly. "I would save anyone who was hurt and in trouble and you know it!"

"But you _do_ admit that you think she's cute though." Allen said, "There's nothing wrong with wanting to save the girl, Lancelot. It's not like having impure motives negates the value of what you did."

Midoriya groaned. "Even if her being nice to me and c-cute _was_ a factor in my decision to save her—and it _wasn't_ , by the way—it doesn't matter because I don't have time for dating or relationships! I have a quirk that I need to master so I don't turn my bones to powder every time my focus slips a little! Besides," he muttered, the faintest hint of bitterness leaking into his voice, "girls like that don't go for weirdoes like me anyways."

Allen frowned—he hated hearing his friend talk about himself that way. Midoriya's general sense of self-worth had come a long way since he had met him three years ago—especially since All-Might had picked him as a successor. However, it seemed like no matter how much Allen tried to build him up, certain scars ran deeper than words alone could heal. The worst part was that Allen couldn't honestly disagree with Midoriya's cynical assessment of his situation either. He wasn't ugly by any means, but he was sort of plain, nerdy and could be painfully awkward around unfamiliar people. Those qualities didn't exactly tend to inspire attraction from the ladies.

"Fuck, I'm sorry man." Allen apologized, "I was just messing with you. I didn't mean to bum you out…especially today of all days."

"It's fine." Midoriya replied, "Just please drop it for now."

The two remained silent until the made it to the gigantic door that served as the entrance to their classroom.

"Hot damn!" Allen whistled, "That door is fucking huge! You think we've got anyone in the class who needs the door to be that big?"

"I don't know." Midoriya replied, equally in awe of the door's sheer size. The thing had to be three meters tall at least. "This must be what the brochure meant when it talked about the school's 'inclusive design'."

"I guess." Allen clapped his hands and rubbed them together, "Well, let's not just stand here like a bunch of assholes, let's go inside already!"

Allen and Midoriya's faces simultaneously fell the moment they pushed open the door and they walked into the classroom. Before them, caught in the midst of an argument was none other than Bakugo and the guy with the glasses from the exam. In truth, it wasn't so much an argument, as it was a one-sided bitchfest where boy with glasses loudly berated Bakugo for various infractions.

"Don't put your feet up on the desk!" The teen barked, making chopping motions with his hand. "Don't you think that's disrespectful towards your classmates?"

"No, as a matter of fact, I don't!" Bakugo jeered with an arrogant smile on his face.

' _Just my luck!"_ ' Allen and Midoriya thought at the same time as the two continued their fight over what constituted proper behavior.

"Where are you even from, you two-bit extra?"

The boy paused in his rant and straightened at the question. "Me? My name is Iida Tenya, I matriculated at Soumei Private Academy!"

Bakugo clicked his tongue. "Soumei, huh? Looks like we've got a damn elite here. I'm going to enjoy crushing you, loser!"

Iida recoiled, "Crush me? Are you sure that you want to be a hero?" Suddenly, the spectacled boy noticed Midoriya and Allen standing there and perked up. "It's you!" He called out before walking briskly over to the pair. "Hello," he said, giving a bow, "my name is Iida Tenya from Soumei Academy!"

"Uh, yeah…hahaha," Midoriya laughed nervously, wondering why this strange person was approaching him. "I overheard. I'm Midoriya…it's super nice to meet you."

"Midoriya…" Iida said with grave seriousness, "You divined the actual nature of the practical exams, didn't you?"

' _Huh?_ ' Midoriya and Allen once again thought in unison.

"I…was blind to it!" Iida continued, without waiting for a response. He balled up a fist and had a pained expression that made it clear that the words he was uttering were caused him physical pain. "I completely misread you! I hate to admit it, but you were the better man!"

Midoriya looked profoundly uncomfortable with this praise, seeing as he had no idea about there being rescue points either, but this caught Bakugo's attention nonetheless.

"Deku…" He said in a low voice, remembering Midoriya's defiance of his demand to turn down the acceptance from Yuuei, glaring in the direction of his former victim.

Iida's attention turned to Allen, "You on the other hand…I remember you! I cannot believe someone so flippantly vulgar passed the exam! It's disgraceful!"

Allen bristled, blurting out "The fuck'd you—" before biting down on the inside of his cheeks, cutting off his reflexive desire to tell Iida exactly where he could shove it. He needed to contain his temper. From what he had just seen, Iida wasn't actually a jerk like Bakugo, he was just really uptight.

' _Calm down._ ' Allen told himself, tightly clenching his fists. ' _You've already got one enemy in this classroom, you don't need another—not on the first day.'_

He took a deep breath. "Look," Allen said with as even a tone as he could manage, "I'm sorry for how I responded to you during the exams. I worked really hard to get there, and when you questioned my commitment, it upset me a lot. We're classmates now though, and I hope that we can put this behind us. Fresh start?"

Iida stared blankly at the hand that Allen had extended to him for a second. From the expression on his face, he clearly hadn't expected that kind of mature, measured response. Out of the corner of his eye, Allen could see a similar expression of shock on Midoriya's face as well—and to be fair, this was well out of character for him. Normally, Allen took to confrontation like a fish to water.

Iida cleared his throat and grasped the offered hand, giving it a firm shake. "Well…I suppose it might have been rude of me to question your resolve," he offered for the sake of diplomacy, "I can see how that would cause you to lash out. I accept your apology. A fresh start would be most agreeable."

"Great," Allen cheered. The cloud of anger constricting his chest unraveled, making him feel lighter, "My name's Allen, Allen Martin."

Iida nodded. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Allen-kun. Let us become excellent heroes together!" Bakugo snorted at the sappy display.

"AH!" A feminine voice called out from behind them, "It's you! Curly-Hair kid!"

As soon Midoriya turned and saw the person who had just called him out, he promptly went red as a tomato.

"You made it! Just like Present Mic said!" She exclaimed, genuinely excited to see him. "Yay, go you! That punch was out of this world! You blew that robot away like, BOOM!"

Midoriya mumbled his reply, stammering and using his arms as a shield to cover his flaming face. Allen failed to suppress his mirth completely and snorted in laughter—as much as he tried to deny or rationalize away his obvious crush, that kid had it _bad_.

"Hey there!" Allen said, getting her attention by giving her a little wave. As amused as he was with the whole display, Allen decided to throw Midoriya a bone and give him a chance to get his composure back, because he was seriously drowning out there. "Seems like you know my friend here, but I don't think we've been introduced. My name's Allen Martin, what's yours?"

The girl shot Allen a heartfelt smile and pumped her fist energetically, "Uraraka Ochako! It's nice ta meet'cha!"

"If you're gonna be hunting for buddies, do it elsewhere." A tired sounding voice droned out from beneath them.

"Eh?" Allen, Midoriya and Uraraka replied looking around to identify where the voice had come from.

A disheveled looking man with a scraggly beard and bloodshot eyes was laying on the ground in a sleeping bad and staring up at them placidly. He took out a sports drink package—the kind often used by hikers and mountain climbers—and drained it in one gulp. "This is the Department of Heroics!" Everyone stared in stunned silence as the man unzipped himself out of the bag and stood in front of the class. He was wearing an all black suit with what looked like bandages loosely gathered around his shoulders, obscuring the lower part of his face.

"Hmm. It took you lot eight seconds for you to quiet down," he drawled, "Life is short kids. You're all lacking in common sense. I'm your homeroom teacher, Aizawa Shouta. Pleasure."

While the rest of the class was coming to terms with this bizarre introduction to their new primary educator, Allen raised his hand, "Uh, sensei? I have a question."

"What is it?" Aizawa asked.

Allen pointed at the sleeping bag. "Did you put that thing on outside the door to make a dramatic entrance, or did you like, roll here, or crawl like a worm or something?"

Most of the class started snickering at that. They had been so focused on wondering who the shabby-looking man was that they hadn't questioned how the man bundled up like a cocoon had ended up outside the door. Aizawa didn't answer. He merely stared at Allen with the same bored expression for a few seconds before rummaging through his sleeping bag and pulling out a stylish looking shirt with the UA logo on it.

"Put these on." He said flatly before pointing towards a series of cubbies with their assigned seat number on them. "Then shove off to the P.E. grounds."

"So I'm guessing you aren't going to answer my question then, sir?"

Aizawa jerked his head towards the door, "Changing rooms are next door. You have ten minutes." With that, Aizawa abruptly turned and walked out the door. Everyone stared at the back of their teacher for a good five seconds before they got moving—pro or not, the guy was seriously bizarre.

As Allen collected his clothes from his designated cubby—number 16—he heard a familiar voice croak out, "I'm glad you managed to pass after all—it seems I have you to thank for helping me after my slip up during the exams."

"Asui-san!" Allen cheered, happy to see her.

"Tsu-chan." Asui corrected.

"Tsu-chan." Allen agreed with a smile, "You're in this class too! That's awesome! How you been?"

Asui stared at him for a second with her usual blank expression, "I'm fine." She replied, "Just wanted to say hi before we got outside and got too busy. Who knows what Aizawa-sensei is going to have us do?"

Allen scratched his head and laughed, "Yeah, right? He's definitely a little, uh…" he paused, searching for the right word.

"He's weird." Asui said, making Allen snort with unexpected mirth at her bluntness. "But he's still a pro, so I'm sure he knows what he's doing. I'm going to go change."

"Right, see you outside." Allen was out of the classroom and walking into the changing room when he noticed Midoriya looking at him expectantly. "What?" Midoriya raised an eyebrow. " _What?_ Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Allen, you've been teasing me about Uraraka-san basically non-stop…do you really think I'm not going to comment on whatever that was with…' _Tsu-chan_ ', was it?"

"Okay, first of all." Allen said, not amused with the direction of Midoriya's thoughts, " _She's_ the one who insisted I call her that. Second, she's pretty much the only reason I passed, so yeah, I'll call her whatever she wants. Finally, did _my_ face look like a stoplight when I was talking to her? No? Then you have nothing to say about the situation."

"Yeah right, you retard. You know the only one a nitwit like you could get with is a frog kid."

"I wasn't talking to you, Bakugo, you ass-clown! Also, _frog kid_? Really? You going to add casual mutant hating to your laundry list of personality flaws?"

"Cut out the idle chatter!" Iida cut in, "Sensei is expecting us outside soon and tardiness is unacceptable conduct for proper heroes!"

"You're not the boss of me, shitty four-eyes!" Bakugo yelled.

(P.E. Grounds)

"Alright everyone," Aizawa said in his monotone drawl, "today we're doing a quirk apprehension test. It's important that I get a baseline for your abilities."

"Um…Sensei?" Uraraka asked, "What about the orientation ceremony? And the guidance counselor meeting?"

"If you want to be heroes," Aizawa replied, turning his back to her, "we don't have time for frilly niceties." At his casual dismissal of the standard procedure for school life she let out a surprised noise that died in her throat. Aizawa shot a look over his shoulder that froze the whole class in place. He gestured at the field in front of them, "Softball pitch. Standing long jump. 50-meter dash. Endurance running. Grip strength test. Sustained side-to-side jumps. Pull-ups. Seated toe-touch. These are all activities you know from middle school, naturally. Physical tests where you were barred from using your quirks—the country still hasn't gotten around to standardizing those sorts of records or keeping track of average performance levels."

Allen scratched his head, "Yeah, I wondered about that during the track and field days...American sports usually allow quirks since it would basically disqualify anyone with mutant-type quirks from participating otherwise."

Aizawa shook his head in agreement, "Precisely. It's negligence on the part of the M.E.X.T. (Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology). Bakugo," he said, getting the attention of the belligerent youth, "what was your record for the softball pitch in middle school?"

"67 meters."

Allen rolled his eyes at some of the impressed murmurs coming from his classmates. "Mine was better than that." He muttered, "It's not that impressive." Midoriya put a hand on his shoulder and shook his head to indicate that this wasn't the time or place.

"Try using your quirk this time around." Aizawa ordered, "As long as you don't leave the circle, anything's fine." He tossed Bakugo a high-tech looking ball, "Don't hold back."

"You got it!" Bakugo said with a feral grin. He wound up and shouted "DIE!" as he let loose a pitch that was literally explosive, blasting the class with wind from the back draft and sending the ball flying so far into the distance that they couldn't see it anymore.

"Die?" Kirishima, a kid with sharp teeth and spiky red hair resembling horns repeated with an amused grin.

"Before anything else," Aizawa said, looking at some measuring device, "one must know what they are capable of…" he displayed the device to the class, showing a reading of over 705 meters, "this is a rational metric that will form the basis of your 'Hero Foundation'."

The class had a variety of reactions to this, from praising the incredible throw, commenting on the ability to use quirks, or in Midoriya's case, going into one of his typical states of fretting over nothing—but it was one comment in particular, coming from a pink-skinned girl with horns that set Aizawa off. "AWESOME! THAT LOOKS SO FUN!"

"It looks fun…you say." Aizawa's voice was low, but the sense of anger and doom he exuded shut every one of the chattering students up quick. "So you were planning on spending your three years here having a laugh, huh? What happened to becoming heroes?"

"Is there any reason we couldn't do both?" Allen asked, either oblivious to the grim mood, or simply ignoring it altogether, "Just cause you're serious about something doesn't mean you can't enjoy it at the same time."

"Shut up!" the class hissed in unison at Allen, eying the worsening mood of their enigmatic teacher, "You're making it worse!"

"Why should I?" Allen shot back, jimmies officially rustled at this point, "I don't care if he's our teacher or a pro—I'm not going to let some guy I've never even heard of make me feel bad every time I crack a smile!" Allen looked like he was about to continue his rant, but was silenced when a bandage-like cloth wrapped around his mouth, gagging him.

"You've got guts, kid." Aizawa said; the aforementioned cloth was wrapped tightly in his fist, "That's good. But you should listen to your classmates and learn to shut up when the adults are talking. As I was about to say before I was so rudely interrupted, this exercise has a new rule: the student who ranks last in total points will be judged 'hopeless' and instantly expelled."

The shouts of protest and dismay merely made Aizawa grin for the first time since they had met him—it was a terrifying sight. "You all understand this school's reputation for freedom on campus…well, that "freedom" goes for us teachers too, which means that we get to dispense of the students as we see fit. Welcome to the Department of Heroics!"

Allen made his way over to Midoriya, who was openly hyperventilating at this point. "What am I gonna do?" he muttered, "I still have terrible control over this quirk! I can barely bring out a fraction of its potential without hurting myself, how am I going to compete with people who've been using their quirks for their entire life?"

' _Ok, I need to put a stop to this before he really gets going._ ' Allen looked around and saw that Midoriya's muttering was already drawing attention from the rest of the class. He clapped his friend on the back. "Dude, relax! You've got this! You aren't going to drop out on your first day like some damn scrub."

"Easy for you to say!" Midoriya shot back. He looked like he was on the verge of tears; "You could probably pass this thing without even using your quirk! You always dominated sports days in middle school—you even beat Bakugo!"

"Yeah, I'm pretty damn athletic, but you aren't exactly some 40kg weakling either." Allen pointed at an unusually small boy in the class who had grape-like protrusions on his head, "You telling me that you don't think you can get a better score than _that_ guy in pretty much every category?"

"You should know better than to underestimate people, Allen." Midoriya rebuked, "You have no idea what his quirk is!"

"Pretty sure that no matter what his quirk is, he's still barely more than a meter tall." Allen said, deadpan, "He only comes up to my thigh."

Midoriya wouldn't be deterred in his desire to panic over the test. "He wouldn't be here if he wasn't capable!" he insisted, "He passed the test, the same as everyone!"

"Chill out," Allen continued to try and calm Midoriya down. "I'd be willing to bet that at least a few of the people don't have a quirk that can be used in these tests, you'll be fine."

"Martin!" Aizawa barked, causing Allen to jump in surprise, "I called your number twice already! You're up for the 50-meter dash! You have ten seconds to get to the line or I'm starting the timer, whether you're ready or not!"

"Shit! Coming, sensei!" Allen sprinted over to the starting line and lined up next to a boy with an odd white and red split hairdo and a scar on his left side. "Sup?" Allen said to the boy, who gave him an unimpressed look before turning away without saying anything. "You're a friendly one, aren't you?" Allen muttered sarcastically.

"Go!" Aizawa ordered.

Allen grinned, activating his 4X boost right away, blazing across the finish line in a blur and activating the system of lasers that timed the runners.

' _Let's see what_ _they think of this!_ " Allen thought as he slid to a stop, deactivating Fast Forward. All out sprinting with his quirk active was extremely tiring even over short distances, so he began taking deep, controlled breaths to regain his wind.

"Martin, 1.33 seconds! Todoroki, 5.47 seconds!"

"1.33 seconds!" Allen heard one of the guys in class say, making him beam with pride, "That's freaking insane! He was even faster than Iida!"

Iida approached Allen, offering his congratulations but looking chagrined at being beaten at his own game. "Indeed," Iida said, making his unusual gestures with his hands, "I was almost certain that I would be the fastest one here, given the nature of my quirk. That was most impressive Allen-kun."

Allen grinned, "I can actually go a lot faster than that, it just wears me out too much to use on the first event. And you were pretty impressive yourself there, Iida! How long could you keep up a pace like that?"

"Hmm," Iida said adjusting his glasses with a miniscule frown, slightly annoyed by Allen's lack of honorifics, "with time to warm up I imagine I could maintain that pace for a few hours, if I had to."

Allen whistled, "Damn, I might have you beat in sprint speed, but you've got my number when it comes to endurance by a long shot!"

"Is that so?" Iida smirked—he could have beaten Allen's time with his Recipro Burst, but wanted to keep that particular card close to his chest for now, "I shall have to keep that in mind if I am forced to compete with you in the future!"

"Runners #17 and #18, Bakugo and Midoriya, you're up!" Aizawa shouted.

"You got this Midoriya!" Allen cheered, "Beat that asshole!"

"You ready to eat my dust, Deku?" Bakugo grinned evilly at Midoriya, trying to psych him out, "I'll show you why a loser like you doesn't have a chance of competing with me!"

At Aizawa's shout of "Go", Bakugo and Midoriya took off. Freakishly athletic in his own right, Bakugo had an advantage in raw speed. As soon as he was a short distance ahead of Midoriya, he stuck his hands behind him in the classic "Naruto-run" pose and let off a series of continuous explosions that propelled him forward, all the while blowing dust into Midoriya's face, blinding him and slowing him down.

"Bakugo, 4.13 seconds! Midoriya, 6.95 seconds!"

"What the hell?" Allen protested, "That wasn't fair at all! Bakugo hindered him with his quirk, the asshole! That was worse than his middle-school time!"

"Life isn't fair," Aizawa countered calmly, "Midoriya wasn't hit intentionally, he was only hindered as a side effect of Bakugo using his quirk to move faster. In the field, heroes are expected to be able to account for the quirks of their allies as well as the villains they are fighting. Next runners, step up!"

"It's fine, Allen." Midoriya said, brushing the dust off of his clothes, "He's right, I should have been prepared for that."

Allen was wouldn't drop it. "Fuck no, it's not fine! Sensei, with all due respect, that's complete bullshit! If sabotage is completely okay and the person ranked last is getting expelled, what's to stop us from 'accidentally' hurting someone I don't like to knock them out of the running?"

"He kinda has a point." Kirishima chimed in, supporting Allen. "Midoriya should get a redo."

Aizawa turned to look at the rest of the class. "Alright, how many of you here think Midoriya should get a second chance? Keep in mind that you may be hurting your own chances to remain in the program."

One by one, the majority of the class spoke up in agreement—with some immediately voicing their support, while others did so more reluctantly, obviously not wanting to go against the tide of the group. In the end, the only ones who voted against it were Bakugo and the tiny boy with the grape-like growths on his head.

"Very well. Let's get a move on then." Aizawa said before ushering a grateful Midoriya back to the starting line. Allen expected Aizawa to be more annoyed at the way the class had gone against his decision; instead, he looked almost approving. Free of any interference, Midoriya did much better on his second attempt.

The rest of the tests proceeded without much drama from then on out. Thanks to Allen's inherent athleticism, he consistently scored at or near the top of the class except in the cases when someone's quirk was particularly well suited for a certain event.

On the other hand, Midoriya received middling across the board due to his inability to use his quirk. Allen was positive that Midoriya wasn't at the bottom, but he had yet to display any kind of superhuman result that almost everybody else had been able to produce at least one example of during the test. When they finally got to the softball pitch, Midoriya gulped as he stepped up to the circle and held the high tech ball in his sweaty palm. Allen could see that he was agonizing over the decision of whether to use his quirk or not.

"Wait," Aizawa said in a foul temper, forcing Midoriya to stop in mid-throw, "I seriously hope you aren't planning on half-assing this test like you did the rest of them. I saw the footage of your entrance exam. I know what you are capable of." Aizawa gestured at the class who was watching silently, "Everyone here has given their all during these exercises. Everyone but _you_. This exercise is so I can assess your abilities, to see how you can creatively apply your quirk for results. This isn't about who can simply run faster or jump further—If you don't use your quirk at least once during these tests, then I don't care what your score is…you're expelled."

Once again, Allen stepped forward to protest this when a pleading glance from Midoriya stopped him in his tracks. "Allen, for once, don't." he said, "Aizawa-sensei is right." His expression hardened, "I've been letting my fear of getting hurt again control me…let it keep me from doing my best." He shook his head, "That's not going to cut it anymore. I have to be better."

Aizawa nodded, his face unreadable. "Well said, now show us what you can do."

Midoriya returned his nod and gripped the ball tightly enough tha Allen could hear his knuckles pop from ten meters away. Midoriya took a deep breath, focused and let loose, flinging the ball forward at a speed similar to if it had been shot by a cannon. Midoriya let out a quiet cry of pain before grabbing his shoulder. Fortunately, his arm lacked the purpled, ragdoll look that he normally associated with his use of One for All—he had merely strained it. He made a fist and gingerly raised the lightly injured limb in triumph, his face set in what looked like a weird mix between a smile and a grimace.

Aizawa looked at the electronic distance reader and gave that terrifying grin once again. "Midoriya, 450 meters!"

Bakugo's mouth was open in shock—he'd never seen anything like this from Midoriya and it filled him with rage to consider that the meek boy he had seen as nothing but a pathetic bug to be stepped had been lying to him the entire time. "DEKU!" he howled, launching himself forward with an explosive blast, "What the hell was that? You been making a fool out of me this entire time, HUH?"

Midoriya flinched out of deeply ingrained instinct, awaiting the pain and shame that always accompanied one of Bakugo's temper tantrums. But when over a second passed and nothing happened he opened his eyes to see both Bakugo and Allen—who had rushed in to stop Bakugo from attacking him—restrained by Aizawa's capture weapon. Speaking of Aizawa, his long hair that usually hung limply obscuring his face, was standing up, flowing as if caught in a breeze that only he could feel, and there was a distinctive pair of yellow goggles around his neck.

"Those goggles…" Midoriya gasped, "I recognize those! You're that underground hero who hates dealing with the press! Eraserhead!"

"This is just great," Aizawa ground out through clenched teeth, visibly straining against the two powerful students trying to fight their way out of his binds, "I've got not just one, but two hotheads in my class. I swear that rat of a principal has something against me." With a quick yank, he slammed the two ensnared teens face first into the ground. "Cut it out!" He yelled, "I don't like having to use my quirk too much, I have dry eye dammit!"

Everyone in the class had the same thought: " _Such a great quirk is wasted on someone with such a lame weakness!"_

Although his strained shoulder definitely hindered Midoriya throughout the rest of the tests, he was nonetheless able to muddle through. Finally, once everything was complete, Aizawa assembled the students in front of a large electronic board to display the scores. The air was thick with anxiety as the more obviously lower ranking students held their breath, wondering who would get the ax.

"Ah, by the way," Aizawa said, completely unaffected by thick atmosphere of tension that was choking the students into apprehensive silence, "that rule about expelling the last placed person…that was a lie."

"WHAAAAAT!" The class at large exclaimed, outraged that such a trick had been played on them—Allen had to turn his head away from Midoriya to hide his laughter. His friend's reaction to the announcement was so extreme that he found it hilarious despite how fucked up Aizawa's trick was.

Aizawa grinned in a way that Allen found irritatingly reminiscent of the way Bakugo smiled when he was mocking someone. "That was a logical ruse in order to draw out your best performances."

"Come on guys, use your brains a little!" A shockingly well-developed girl with long black hair gathered up into an elaborate ponytail said with an exasperated look on her face, " _Of course_ it was a lie! What kind of school expels somebody over a fitness test on its first day?"

Searching for his name, Allen pumped his fist in victory. "Hell yeah!" he crowed victoriously when he saw his name two spots above Bakugo's. "Second place! In your face, dynamite douchebag!"

"Whatever," Bakugo scoffed, already accustomed to losing to Allen at athletic tests like this, "I'd still beat your ass in a fight! Or do you think your dumb ass can outrun a concussive blast wave moving faster than the speed of sound?"

Midoriya let out an audible sigh of relief when he saw his name sitting at number 18 on the list—he had avoided the chopping block for now, but he felt bad for the short kid who Allen had pointed out earlier. Minoru Mineta was his name, and he was sobbing in relief at the lack of expulsion since he had finished dead last amongst the class. Despite being one of the only two to vote against allowing Midoriya a second chance, he patted the shorter boy on the back consolingly and looked around for Allen. When he saw him, Midoriya let out an annoyed sigh.

Like a dog that had caught the scent of a particularly juicy bone, Allen made his way over to the black haired girl who had spoken earlier. To his annoyance, his mouth was dry from nerves—he typically had no issue approaching members of the opposite sex, but this particular girl was easily one of the most attractive people he had ever seen. She somehow had the body of a gravure model in their twenties despite only being fifteen years old.

"Uh, you're Yaoyorozu Momo, right?" Allen inquired, trying to keep the typical smooth and confident voice he used when speaking, rather than the trembling mess that threatened to escape his lips at any moment.

' _Play it cool, Allen._ ' He told himself, trying to remember his notes from the "mother of all man talks" that his dad had given him when he had first entered puberty. ' _A girl like that is probably used to being put on a pedestal. Don't mention her looks—if you're going to give out compliments, make it about something she_ _ **did**_ _rather than something she can't control._ '

Allen didn't really get that part of his father's advice; his mom had always looked so pleased when his father told her how beautiful she was, but years of conditioning had ingrained in him the tendency to simply follow his father's directions whether he understood the reason for them or not.

Yaoyorozu gave Allen a wary look. "Yes, that's right." She replied, using the polite, inoffensive tone reserved for people whom you wished would just shut up and go away already. "Can I help you with something, Martin-san?"

Despite being a standout physical specimen with a great quirk who admittedly wasn't bad on the eyes, Allen's loud, brash, confrontational behavior and demeanor had definitely rubbed her the wrong way. She also had a sinking feeling that this conversation was going to go the same way that most of the conversations with boys her age went.

"Congrats on taking first overall." Allen said with a friendly smile, loosening up now that he had 'taken the plunge'; "This is the first time I've ever not taken home the gold during a school event like this, so I wanted a chance to talk with the person responsible for breaking my perfect record! You were totally awesome!"

He wasn't lying. Yaoyorozu had been seriously impressive, demonstrating exactly why she had gotten in on recommendation. While she was certainly a capable athlete—much more athletic than her voluptuous figure would lead one to believe, it had been the creative use of her quirk that put her head and shoulders above everybody else. For every test, she had produced an object to enhance her performance to ridiculous extremes. Allen's favorite by far was the cannon that she had made for the softball pitch. Sure, it didn't beat Uraraka's score of infinity, but there was something about _literally pulling a cannon out of your ass_ that deeply appealed to Allen's American sensibilities.

"Oh…thank you." She replied. She was surprised by the display of humility and good sportsmanship from somebody who she had largely written off as a walking ego only marginally more tolerable than Bakugo.

"That cannon that you used for the softball pitch was one of the coolest things I've ever seen!" Allen continued, walking alongside her as they made their way back to class, "How does that even work? Can you just make anything you want?"

Yaoyorozu relaxed a little at this line of questioning, but didn't lower her guard completely. When she had seen the faint blush on his face and heard the slight nervous waver his voice when he had first introduced himself, she had been nearly certain that Allen was going to either confess to her on the spot or make some insipid comment about how beautiful she was, just like a thousand boys had already done before. At this point in her life, she was well aware of the fact that she was beautiful—after all, she been told that in irritating and explicit detail by strange men on a nearly daily basis since she had hit puberty.

It irritated her to no end that nobody seemed to care about the fact that she had taught herself to read at the age of three, or that she had memorized the technical designs and molecular structure of over a thousand different materials and machines. _No,_ as soon as they took one look at her perfect skin, symmetrical features and shapely behind, the intellect that she was so very proud of was irrelevant.

"Not anything," she replied, "I can only make non-living materials, and I have to possess a fundamental understanding of the chemical structure and form of the object in order to produce it, but otherwise there are no limits other than the amount of fat cells I have available to manipulate."

Allen scratched his head, "To be perfectly honest, I didn't understand most of that explanation," he blushed a bit at the admission, "but it sounds complicated. You have to be pretty smart to be able to handle a quirk like that, don't you?"

Yaoyorozu gave Allen a small smile, "I suppose." The two continued to chat until the got back to their respective changing rooms. Allen wore an ear-to-ear grin, feeling like a conquering king as he changed, pissing off Bakugo, who thought Allen was mocking him.

On the other side of the wall, Yaoyorozu was quietly thoughtful, reconsidering her initial opinion of the friendly American boy who had approached her. It would take significantly more than a single pleasant conversation for her to trust that he wasn't just after her body like every guy before him, but she didn't think that he was as annoying as he had first appeared to be. She shrugged as she finished tying her tie and smoothed the wrinkles out of her skirt, only time would tell if she had been correct with her first assumption.

 **AN: Rewriting is complete. Yes, Allen has a crush on Yaoyorozu, and no, it does not mean that it will work out just because he is the main character. He is a fifteen-year-old ball of hormones and she is attractive to the point of absurdity. Of course he would be interested, but at the same time, I can't imagine that someone like Yaoyorozu wouldn't have already been turned off by how her looks turn men into slobbering idiots. I'm shooting for a realistic depiction of relationships, so if there isn't natural chemistry between the two characters, it won't work out, just like in real life.**

 **As always, reviews and feedback are appreciated.**


	5. Foundational Heroics

Chapter 5: Foundational Heroics

"You sure you're okay, dude?" Allen asked. After Midoriya got back from the nurse's office after getting his strained shoulder treated, he'd spent the rest of the day shuffling around like a zombie. "You look like you're dead on your feet."

Midoriya let out a yawn and waved Allen off. "I'm fine," he insisted, "Getting taken care of after not getting much sleep last night took a lot out of me, so I…" he paused mid-sentence to let out another yawn, "I'm just a little tired."

"If you say so," Allen replied, "just let me know if you need me to carry your bag or something."

"Will do."

"Midoriya-kun, Martin-kun!" Iida's booming voice rang out from behind them. Allen and Midoriya stopped in their tracks, waiting for Iida to join them. "Are the two of you bound for the UA station as well?"

Midoriya nodded, "Yeah, neither of us live at the dorms here so we have to commute. Would you like to join us?"

"Of course!" Iida replied, dead serious. "Getting to know one's classmates better is always a worthwhile endeavor!"

Allen had to fight the urge to roll his eyes. It had become clear to him over the course of the day that Iida-at heart-was an honest, diligent, and all-around decent guy, but sometimes he was just too much.

"I must say though," Iida added, looking pensive, "Aizawa-sensei really had me fooled! I'd actually thought 'this must be what the highest academia is like!' Now I see how a teacher could encourage his students through deception!"

"I think it was a shitty move myself." Allen disagreed, making Iida frown at his language. "I wasn't worried about getting last, but we should be able to trust our teachers and superiors to tell us the truth. My dad says that integrity is one of the core principles that any organization worth being a part of should have—if a company can't trust their CO, how can they be expected to follow their orders?"

"Your father sounds like an admirable man," Iida said with an approving nod, "what does he do, if you do not mind me asking? Is he a hero as well?"

"Yes." Allen replied, "But not in the way that we're trying to be—he's a Marine, a member of the Armed Forces."

"A soldier?" Iida said, rubbing his chin. "Ah, I see. That's why your family is in Japan then?"

"Yeah," Allen confirmed, "I don't know how well you follow international news, but tensions between the US and China have been really high for a while now. We've been stationed here for the last seven years because of it."

"Hey!" A feminine voice called out. Allen suppressed a desire to let out an irritated sigh—he had a train to catch, and at this rate half the class would join them before they made it to the front gates. "Hey you guys!" Allen didn't have to even look to know who it was running towards them once he saw the panicked look on Midoriya's face. "You all headed towards the station? Wait for me!"

"Ah," Iida said in recognition, "You are that 'infinity girl'."

"Hi," she greeted him with a bright smile, "I'm Uraraka Ochako! You're, uh, Iida Tenya, Allen Martin, and, if I'm not mistaken…Midoriya Deku, right?"

"Deku?" Midoriya repeated, aghast that she thought Bakugo's demeaning nickname was his actual name.

"Eh?" Uraraka said, looking confused at the negative reaction, "wasn't that what that Bakugo kid called ya?"

"Um, w-well you see," Midoriya explained, sweating bullets and waving his hands about, "m-my name is actually Izuku, 'Deku' is just something that Kacchan calls me to demean me."

"So it's an insult." Iida said, frowning, "I must say, the more I learn about this Bakugo fellow, the more I dislike him. He seems most disagreeable."

"You better get used to that feeling." Allen spat, a sour look on his face, "Because we're in for a long three years with that piece of human garbage."

"Allen." Midoriya rebuked.

"But you know," Uraraka added, getting the boys attention, "I kinda like the name 'Deku' for you." She smiled, "It gives me a sort of 'never give up' vibe, ya know?"

"Call me Deku!" Midoriya replied instantly, eyes wide and face scarlet. Allen started laughing so hard he had to walk away to compose himself, while Iida scolded him for being weak-willed enough to allow himself to be identified by an insult.

Midoriya was pulling his turtle act, covering his face with his arms and muttering something about Copernicus while Uraraka looked pleasantly oblivious of her effect on the boy. The four students continued joking and laughing all the way to the station, where they said their goodbyes one by one.

When Allen boarded his train, leaving Midoriya as the last person on the platform, he had a smile on his face. With the exception of Bakugo, Allen had never really been outright 'enemies' with anyone in his middle school, but their collective treatment of Midoriya ensured that he wasn't going to be their friend either. It was nice—having other people that he could call friends, and he was looking forward to seeing them tomorrow.

(The Next Day)

Lunch had just ended, and the entirety of class 1-A was buzzing with excitement. After suffering through a morning of shockingly mundane instruction—heroics or not, this _was_ still an accredited High School—not even cool customers like Todoroki, whose personality could only be described as 'cold', or 'stoic' if one was feeling particularly generous, were immune from the mood infecting the class.

Today was their first Foundational Heroics lesson—but more importantly, it was the first lesson taught by none other than All Might himself. Allen was willing to bet that if you asked any student at any Heroics Department in the nation to list their top five reasons why they wanted be a hero, All Might would be somewhere on that list. With more fans than some major religions, the man's influence as the "Symbol of Peace" simply could not be understated.

"IIIIT'S MEEEEE!" All Might boomed, adding his trademark laugh, and bursting through the doorway with an overly dramatic pose that made Allen snort with laughter, "Coming through the door like a normal person!"

All Might ignored the chatter of the students commenting on his retro outfit. As he spoke, he continuously transitioned between various poses showing off his physique. Allen couldn't help but be impressed that even in his fifties, All Might could clean up at bodybuilding competitions.

"Foundational Hero Studies!" He said, "For this class, we'll be building up the fundamental skills necessary for heroes through various trials!" Using some sort of slight of hand, All Might pulled out a stylized placard with the word "BATTLE" written on it and adopted a flamboyant pose that suddenly made Iida's odd mannerisms seem tame in comparison. "But let's just jump right in with this! The trial of battle!"

Allen would never have admitted it, but he was pretty sure that he and Bakugo had identical expressions at that announcement. ' _Now this is what I'm talking about!'_

"And to go with your first battle," All Might added dramatically. He pressed a button on a remote control, and a series of hidden shelves numbered 1 through 20 popped out of the wall, "we've prepared the gear we had you send in requests for to match your quirks!"

"YES!" the class exclaimed as one, "Our battle gear!"

Allen was twitching with excitement as he held the hefty package in his arms—he couldn't wait to rock and roll!

"Get changed and we'll be ready to go!" All Might said, "Everyone gather at grounds Beta!"

One by one, the students filed out and headed to the changing rooms until it was only Allen and All Might remaining in the class. As excited as Allen was to put on his costume for the first time, he wanted to take advantage of the rare chance to get a moment alone with All Might. He had something that he needed to say.

"Hmm?" All Might noticed the lone remaining student, "is there something wrong young man? Martin, was it?"

"I go by my first name, Allen." Allen replied, just as in awe of the sheer presence of the man standing before him as he was at eight, "And no, nothing is wrong. I just wanted to speak with you in private for a minute."

All Might was intrigued, he was aware that Allen was a close friend of his protégé, but had no idea what he could want with him. "I see…well, I would be happy to speak with you after class, but at the moment you should be getting ready for the lesson."

Allen shook his head, "It will only take a moment, really. I just wanted to thank you."

All Might raised an eyebrow. "Whatever for?"

' _For making my friend's dream a reality, for believing in him._ '

Allen kept that thought to himself, having sworn to not reveal his knowledge of the connection between All Might and Midoriya. Instead he said, "I doubt you remember this, but about seven years ago, I was taken hostage by a villain—he had tried to hold up a store or something, real low level stuff—anyways, he snatched me away from my mother, but you saved me. All I remember was being terrified that I was going to die, and the next thing I knew, I was safe, thanks to you." Allen bowed deeply enough that his torso was parallel to the ground. "I never had a chance to thank you for that day. You are the reason that I decided to become a hero."

All Might's ever-present smile became just a touch wider. It was for moments like this that he became a hero in the first place—not the glory, fame, or money, but to witness the fruits of his efforts blossom from the seeds of his good deeds. He let out a laugh, "Raise your head young Allen! There's no need for that! Seeing the fine young man that you have become is all of the thanks that I need! Now go! We don't want to keep your classmates waiting, now do we?"

Allen grinned and took off with his outfit to the changing rooms, feeling like he could take on the world. As he walked in, he saw his classmates in various states of dress—the ones whose costumes were fairly simple were already finished, while others like Iida, still had multiple pieces they needed to assemble their ensemble.

"What took you so long, dumbass?" Bakugo snarked, putting some weird wing-like decorative piece on his head, "Did you get lost on the way here? I know that you're slow but even an idiot like you should be able to figure out a straight line."

"Ha ha." Allen laughed sarcastically, unzipping the bag that held his equipment, not even Bakugo would be able to ruin this moment for him today. "Wow. You sure told me. You should be proud of that wicked zinger. Really."

"Kacchan's sense of humor aside," Midoriya said, stepping into some green, full-body jumpsuit, "where were you?"

"I just had something I needed to say to All Might. It was no big deal."

Bakugo scoffed, sliding some unwieldy looking gauntlet onto his arm, "What could someone like you _possibly_ have to say to All Might?"

"It's personal," Allen replied, "which means that it's none of your business, so piss off." Bakugo made a rude noise and slid on his other gauntlet before walking out the door. Allen scowled; "I know I've said it before, but I think it bears repeating: I _really_ hate that guy."

Midoriya sighed and slipped his hood over his head, making him look somewhat like a rabbit. "Just get ready and meet us out there—I just want to get this lesson over with already." Allen raised an eyebrow at Midoriya's tone, but merely shrugged—despite having a natural talent for it, Midoriya had never really enjoyed sparring and fighting the way that Allen did. He preferred the cerebral end of things—studying forms, counters and tactics—rather than the physical.

A few minutes later, when he was fully suited up, Allen admired himself in the full-length mirror. In his designs—made with a significant amount of help from his father—Allen had stressed a balance of protection and lightweight maneuverability. Underneath a light, but incredibly sturdy black ceramic vest with a white fast-forward symbol painted on it, Allen sported a long sleeve chainmail shirt made from a lightweight alloy whose name he couldn't pronounce to protect him from all manner of cutting and slicing attacks that would cause him to quickly bleed out due to his quirk. To protect his hands he wore his black tactical gloves, and his forearms, knees and shins were decked out with light, flexible protectors with interior padding to augment his strikes and protect him from blunt force attacks. On his feet were a simple pair of steel-toed combat boots, and on top of it all, he wore a pair of olive drab fatigue pants with plenty of pockets and an open fatigue jacket with the sleeves rolled up and an American flag patch sewn onto the right shoulder, and the fast forward symbol sewn onto the left. The whole thing weighed about 15 kilos altogether. Sure, it wasn't the most flamboyant or memorable design, but Allen thought it looked cool—plus, it was practical and it paid homage to his father and the system that had produced him.

With one final backward glance at the mirror, Allen activated his quirk and broke into a jog to catch up with his classmates. UA's campus was gargantuan, and Allen had no idea where training ground Beta was, so he was counting on following one of the kids who had already memorized the school layout.

"Hey!" he called out to a group of his classmates walking together, "Wait up!" One of them, a dark-haired girl too far away to make out exactly who it was, stopped to wait for him. "Thanks!" Allen said, turning off his quirk, "I'm not sure how to get to that training ground yet and I…I…uhhhh, wow."

Allen's brain immediately went into meltdown upon seeing none other than Yaoyorozu Momo wearing a skirt so short that it was basically a belt, and a skintight Chinese style shirt that showed a large amount of her cleavage.

Momo rolled her eyes. The nature of her quirk meant that she had to show a lot of skin, but she hoped that her costume wouldn't get this kind of reaction from every guy in the class. "You were saying?" She prompted him drily, hoping that he would hurry up and shut his mouth before he started attracting flies or something.

Her voice shook Allen out of his daze and he had to make a concerted effort to stop ogling the shapely girl in front of him, forcing himself to make eye contact, and _only_ eye contact.

"Yeah." he said, trying to reorganize his thoughts in the face of all of… _that_. "I, um…okay."

Momo put her hands on her hips, clearly losing patience.

"Sorry." Allen blurted out, getting her to raise an eyebrow. He needed to address the elephant in the room if he was going to be able to communicate with her at all when she looked like that. He began babbling, "I can tell you hate it when guys stare at you like that, and I'm _really_ trying not to, I swear, but it's just…I mean…you look really good…your costume I mean! Not that _you_ don't look good, of course, but…I…I'm just going to shut up now." Allen's ears burned and he was incredibly thankful that Bakugo wasn't there to witness that embarrassing display.

Momo simply sighed and shrugged off the awkward barrage of compliments. "Let's just get a move on." She said. She was more disappointed than irritated—Allen had been perfectly pleasant company yesterday. Despite her initially unfavorable impression, she had thought that he was funny, good-natured and a good listener who had only looked at her breasts twice during their entire conversation. Not perfect, but far from the worst teenage boy she'd ever met. Right now though? She doubted that he would be able to comprehend every third word out of her mouth.

' _Well,_ ' she thought, ' _at least he apologized and is self-aware about it. Most guys seem to think that I'm not observant enough to notice them eyeing me up like a steak.'_

"So…" Allen trailed, hoping to move past the awkwardness of a minute ago, "what do you think?"

"What do I think about what?" Momo replied.

"About _my_ costume?" Allen grinned and spread his hands as if putting himself on display, "Pretty cool, right?"

Momo considered for a moment, "It looks very…practical," she said diplomatically, "subdued even. I take it you were going for function over form?"

He had to be—she wouldn't have been caught dead wearing that shade of green with his skin tone—but she supposed that its striking similarity to a soldier uniform leant him a certain sense of gravitas.

"Yeah," Allen said, "I've got basically no long range capabilities at all, so I wanted to focus on protection since I've got to get up close and personal to engage."

"I see," Momo replied, "I wish I could have covered up a bit more, but my quirk requires me quick access to my bare skin."

"That makes sense." Allen sent out a silent expression of gratitude to whatever gods were listening for that miracle. The two walked and talked for the next couple of minutes. When they finally caught up with their fellow classmates, Momo did her best to ignore the stares of her fellow classmates and Allen did his best to act like the extremely attractive girl next to him wasn't practically naked.

Before they knew it, they were all gathered in front of All Might, who stared at them proudly. Or maybe he was just staring at them, Allen couldn't really tell since All Might's expression pretty much never changed.

"All right, you bunch of newbies!" All Might boomed, "Let's see what you are made of and get this trial of battle started! I like everyone's styles, by the way! Very cool!" He paused a bit when his eyes drifted over Midoriya's costume and let out a cough to disguise what sounded suspiciously like a laugh.

At first, Allen didn't understand what was so funny, or why All Might would be laughing at his protégé until he made the comparison between the 'rabbit ears' on Midoriya's hood and All Might's signature hairstyle—when the two were side by side; the inspiration for Midoriya's outfit was pretty obvious.

All Might went on to explain the exercise—an indoor two-on-two hero verses villain team battle! Allen's excitement was tempered a bit when All Might announced that teams would be decided by lottery—he had wanted to work with Midoriya, but hearing the explanation that impromptu team-ups happened in the field all of the time, Allen accepted it. He figured that he still had a chance of working with Midoriya anyways, and even in the likely event that he didn't, he could just do it another time.

When his turn to draw lots came, Allen reached into the box and drew out a slip of paper with the letter D on it. "D!" he called out, looking around, "Anybody else got the letter D?"

"WHAT!" Bakugo yelled out in anger—and just like that, every one of Allen's good feelings about his first hero lesson burst into flames and died. "No way! I refuse to work with that dumbass! Somebody switch with me!"

"No way." Allen moaned, "This can't be happening! Of all of the people in this class, I end up on a team with _him_? Seriously, what are the odds?"

"Five percent." Asui chimed in.

"Not helping Tsu-chan."

"Young Bakugo, Young Allen," All Might chastised the hotheaded teens, "I'm afraid that all partners are final. If I allowed you to switch than it would defeat the purpose of the random assignments in the first place."

"I would just love to see how this day could get any worse." Allen groaned in response.

Once all of the teams had been established All Might drew further lots to decide the team matchups. The sinking feeling in Allen's stomach grew even worse when All Might announced that the first team battle was going to be him and Bakugo as the villains versus Midoriya and Uraraka as the heroes.

Allen dropped his face into his hands. "You know, at this point, I'm not even surprised. This is punishment. The universe is punishing me right now for tempting fate."

"This scenario has the villains already inside of the building." All Might explained, "After five minutes, the heroes will be let in as well! Everybody else will be watching through the surveillance cameras." He turned to Allen and Bakugo. "Now, I realize that this might be uncomfortable for you, but I'd like you two to do your best to adopt the villainous mindset."

"Somehow I doubt it will be a problem with this one." Allen snarked, pointing at Bakugo, "The real challenge for him would have been if he were on the Hero team."

Incensed, Bakugo whirled on Allen, "You got something you want to say to me, dumbass?" He growled.

Allen didn't back down. "Yeah, lots of things actually. How about this to start with? Being talented doesn't make you any less of a shit human being!"

"Now now, you two!" All Might scolded them, "Enough of that! Your bickering is holding up the lesson!"

"Yes sir." The two boys apologized instantly. Novice teacher that he was, such was the respect that All Might commanded.

All Might let out a little cough, "As this is a practical exercise, I expect you to go all out without fear of injury—though naturally, we will cut the exercise short if things get out of hand. Expect a thorough assessment of your performance once the test is complete!"

Once they were inside of the building, Bakugo's face was going through an interesting series of transformations as his volatile emotions seesawed back and forth. His expression rapidly shifted between fury at being forced to work with Allen and ecstatic about getting to fight against Midoriya without restriction, before eventually settling back into his usual resting bitch face.

"Listen up dumbass," he growled, "you better not do anything stupid like throw the fight just because your worthless friend is on the other team!" Allen grit his teeth at the insults, "I'm going to crush Deku just like the little bug he is—and you better stay out of my way if you know what's good for you! Today is the day that I prove that I'm better than him, than you, than everyone!"

Fuming, Allen turned and walked away from Bakugo before he did something that he would regret. Lashing out at the wall with a punch, Allen indulged in his sudden desire to break something by putting a fist-sized hole in the cheap plaster structure. Unsatisfied, he pulled his fist out and he did it again and again until his fist was aching and the red haze cleared from his vision. Satisfied, he turned around suddenly and stormed over to his teammate.

"Let's get one thing straight, Bakugo." Allen snarled, making optimal use of his imposing height by looming over Bakugo, staring down into his eyes with a furious glare. "I won't deny that you're probably stronger than Midoriya right now. Hell, you might even be smarter than him, too. But you will _never_ be better than Midoriya in any way that matters! If it weren't for the fact that I know that he would be furious if I let him win just to spite you, I would happily sit back and watch him kick your ass with a smile on my face!"

Rather than getting angry, Bakugo laughed derisively, "You think that _Deku_ can beat _me!_ You're even stupider than I thought, and believe me, that's saying a lot!"

"He's _already_ beaten you, you insufferable asshole!" Allen snapped.

Bakugo abruptly stopped laughing. "What the fuck are you talking about? He hasn't beaten shit."

Unable to help himself, Allen grinned before laughing uproariously. The sounds of his mirth echoed throughout the empty halls of the building. "You never looked up the entrance exam results did you?"

Bakugo narrowed his eyes, "Of course I did, you idiot—I did it the day of the test. I got the most points out of everyone in this entire school. What's your point? I heard that Deku barely got any at all."

"You got the most _villain_ points," Allen corrected with a sadistic grin—Midoriya had basically begged him to keep this information to himself. He knew that it would cause nothing but trouble, but right now Allen needed Bakugo to listen to him and the only chance he had of doing that was breaking through his arrogant and childish belief in his invincibility, "but when you added in rescue points—something you got none of, by the way—Midoriya beat your overall score by five points!"

"You're lying!" Bakugo yelled, apoplectic with rage and fists sparking with tiny explosions, "there's no way that that's true! I've known that weak little shit since pre-school and there is _no way_ that he could beat me!"

"It's true." Allen swore, "And in case you forget, you've been wrong about him before. I remember you saying that he would never get in to UA, that he would never even have the chance to compete with you, that he was nothing but a useless scrub." Bakugo glared at Allen, fists clenched tightly but he remained silent—a small miracle in Allen's mind. "Well," Allen continued, "guess who's standing outside right now, doing his best to work out a plan to beat us? You might have known him since pre-school, but you don't know him like I do. He's been watching and taking notes on the both of us for years. He knows our moves, our temperaments and how we think. He learned combat skills from my father on a weekly basis for nearly two and a half years, and he has enough raw strength to chuck a softball for over half a kilometer. I _promise_ you, if you go in blindly swinging at Midoriya half-cocked like he's the same weakling that you used to bully, then I guarantee that you're going to wake up in a hospital bed wondering what the hell happened."

Instead of exploding with denial like Allen expected, Bakugo went still. "If you know him so well," he growled through clenched teeth, looking as if he wanted to puke with every fiber of his being by saying this, "then what do you suggest?" Allen's mouth dropped open. He knew he had to try, but he had never actually expected Bakugo to listen to him in a million years. "WELL?" Bakugo shouted, "Out with it dumbass!"

' _Ah,'_ Allen thought, ' _That's more like it._ '

"Well," Allen replied scratching his head, "I don't know anything about how his partner's quirk works, other than that she can make things float. But just like Midoriya knows everything about us, I know everything about Midoriya—he's quick, crafty, and he's not above playing dirty when he gets desperate. His biggest strength by far is his ability to put together a plan on the fly—and in my experience, unless you can surprise or fluster him, they'll work more often than not."

Bakugo slammed one of his fists into his open palms with and explosive pop. "Surprise him? _That's_ your special insight?" he scoffed, irritated that he had wasted his time listening to Allen, "That was already my plan, idiot! I'm gonna hit him so and fast that he'll be a smear on the floor!"

Allen gave Bakugo a dry look, "Uh, no. He will one hundred percent be expecting you launch a surprise attack on him." Allen's eyes widened as something came to him—a surefire way to make Midoriya forget about his plans. "But _that_ …that might work, though. He'd never expect that."

Irritated at how vague Allen was being, Bakugo's eye began to twitch. "What the fuck are you talking about, dumbass? _What_ would work?"

"If we didn't attack _him."_ Allen felt like a bastard for even thinking of suggesting this, but since the whole point of this exercise was to get in the villainous mindset, it was well within the bounds of his expected role.

Bakugo's eyes widened in surprise when he realized Allen's plan, "Do you mean…?"

Allen nodded and took a deep breath, burying his distaste for the plan underneath his burning desire to win. "Yes. You attack Uraraka-san instead. Midoriya's logic goes out the window when it comes to her. I'm almost certain that he sees you go for her, he'll lose his head and charge at you. That's when I come in from behind and take him down."

"Fuck that!" Bakugo spat, "Why should you be the one to take down Deku? I want to do it! And what makes you so sure that this will work anyways? He barely even knows her!"

Allen hesitated to reveal the reason why he was so confident—he had the feeling that telling Bakugo this wouldn't lead to anything good, but he absolutely didn't want those two to fight in a no holds barred scenario. For all of his faults, Allen didn't think that Bakugo would stoop so low as to seriously hurt Uraraka—he did not, however, think that the same would apply to Midoriya. Whether All Might called the match or not, Allen was certain that it wouldn't end until one of them—most likely Midoriya—was sent to the hospital. Allen believed in his friend's bottomless potential, but he wasn't naïve enough to think he stood a chance in a fight against a serious Bakugo—not yet.

"He…has a crush on her." Allen admitted, immediately feeling like he made a mistake but forging ahead regardless, "A big one. And he knows I wouldn't hurt her, even accidentally—but if _you_ did it, he would forget that this was just an exercise. It _has_ to be you."

"Okay," Bakugo agreed with an evil grin, "we'll go with your plan. I can't wait to see the look on that little crybaby's face when I grind his pathetic little crush into the dirt! Good plan dumbass, I didn't know you had it in you." Allen never thought that somebody's approval could feel so shameful.

All Might's voice crackled in their ears. "Your five minutes are up! Start!"

Allen clenched his fists. He had a bad feeling about this exercise, but he wasn't going let anything keep him from doing his best. He would win.

 **AN: Rewrite complete. As always, please leave a review to let me know what you think about the story, every bit of feedback helps inspire me to make this story better and better. Until next time.**


	6. A Hero's Weakness

Semper Fast

Chapter 6: A Hero's Weakness

A big believer in the importance of hydration, Allen wasn't thirsty, but his mouth felt dry and rough as he waited in one of the empty rooms on the far end of the hallway from where the bomb was located. He didn't think that Bakugo would do anything to make them lose, but he had a very strong suspicion that he was going to do _something_ to turn this situation into a disaster.

' _I have no choice_.' Allen repeated to himself over and over like a mantra to banish the churning dread in the pit of his stomach. It wasn't working, but he continued trying all the same. ' _If I don't take control of the situation, that bastard is going to blast Midoriya to pieces. I have no choice.'_

At that very moment, Midoriya and Uraraka were also feeling increasingly uneasy as they made their way through the halls of the empty building. "This doesn't make sense." Midoriya murmured to Uraraka. They had already almost made it to the location of the bomb and had yet to encounter the explosive young man. "I was certain that Kacchan would have attacked by now. Knowing him, and with me as his opponent, his priority would definitely be to beat me up."

As if summoned by his words, Bakugo suddenly rushed out from a blind spot and fired off a blast in the direction of the two heroes. "Got it in one Deku, you little shit!"

Reacting quickly, Midoriya moved to protect Uraraka. Despite dodging the brunt of the attack, he still ended up losing half of his mask in the process and acquiring some minor burns to his face.

"Don't you fucking dodge me!" Bakugo shouted, "Stand still and take it like a man!"

"Deku-kun!" Uraraka cried, wrinkling her nose at the acrid stench of burnt hair hanging thick in the air. "Are you ok?"

"I'm fine," Midoriya replied, shaking off the ringing in his ears. He wiped away a thin trail of blood running down the side of his face and glared at Bakugo with eyes full of determination, "he's going to need to better than that if he wants to take me down!"

Taking this as a challenge, Bakugo's pupils contracted to pinpricks and he clenched his fists in rage, "So," he growled though bared teeth, "you think that just because you've been hiding some flashy quirk, you're better than me! How long have you been lying to me, Deku? You sneaky little fuck!"

Bakugo heard Allen's voice through the receiver in his ear, "Don't forget the plan, Bakugo! We agreed on this!"

"Fuck that!" Bakugo barked, "I'm not letting this opportunity go to waste! I'm going to show this little shit just how big the gulf between us is!" All strategy forgotten in his anger, Bakugo charged at Midoriya with his arm cocked back for a big swing.

However, instead of feeling the impact of fist on flesh and the satisfying sight of seeing Midoriya blown away by his power, Bakugo felt a strong grip wrap around his wrist followed by the sensation of his center of balance being forcefully shifted forward.

' _What?'_ Bakugo thought, ' _Did this little shit just read me?'_

Later, when Allen would review the tapes of the fight, he would feel his chest swell with pride at the textbook hip toss Midoriya performed on Bakugo. With a loud grunt of effort, Midoriya slammed his longtime bully onto the ground as hard as he could. The only thing that prevented the move from being a one-hit KO was that Midoriya had, out of habit, stuck out his foot at the last second to prevent the back of Bakugo's head from hitting the concrete floor. Bakugo let out a pained wheeze as he felt all of the air leave his lungs in one burst.

"Woah!" Uraraka cheered, impressed and surprised by this unexpected combat prowess from her unassuming teammate, "You're just like a martial arts expert!"

Despite his unwillingness to risk killing Bakugo with a throw, Midoriya had been trained to never allow an opportunity like this go to waste. Wasting no time, he pounced on Bakugo, mounting him and rained down merciless blows on the prone boy with the intent of knocking him unconscious.

This wasn't to be, however, for within about two seconds of starting his ground and pound assault, Midoriya was left gasping in pain when a size 31.5 boot planted itself at high speed into his stomach. Before he could react to this unexpected attack, he was bodily picked up and _hurled_ into Uraraka, knocking her over as well.

(Meanwhile, back in the Monitoring Room)

" _Oooooh_!" The entire class, including All Might, hissed in unison at this development.

"Oh man," Sato, a boy similar in size to Allen and with prominent lips said, "that _had_ to hurt!"

"Did you see those moves Midori pulled though?" Ashido, the pink-skinned girl exclaimed, "I totally thought he had that Bakugo kid!" She pouted, "Too bad for him."

"Yes," All Might said, deciding to use this as a learning experience for the rest of the students, "Young Bakugo was certainly in a bad situation just then, but this is why most heroes work in teams! Never underestimate the element of surprise! As you just saw, it only takes one moment to completely turn a fight around. Young Midoriya did well to guard against Bakugo's initial assault, but when the fight turned in their favor, he and his teammate lost their situational awareness." Unconsciously, All Might put his hand on the site of his injury. "You must always keep your wits about you until the job is done! Tunnel vision has been the end of many a hero."

(Battle Site)

"What the hell did I say?" Allen shouted at the still dazed Bakugo as he roughly pulled his teammate to his feet and dragged him further away from the hero team to look him over. Bakugo's nose was bleeding and he sported a rapidly swelling eye, but he otherwise looked fine. "I _told you_ _to stick to the plan_!"

Allen was furious. In other circumstances, what had just happened would have made him giddy with happiness and pride—he had wanted to see Midoriya do that that to the arrogant prick for a long, _long_ time now. It really rankled him something fierce that he finally got his wish, but circumstances forced him to put a stop to it.

' _I just don't get to have_ anything _do I?'_ Allen thought in a moment of indulgent self-pity.

"Shut up!" Bakugo yelled once he had regained his bearings. "The little shit just caught me off guard! I had it under control! If you hadn't butted in, I would have blasted him off of me and through the roof!"

Allen rolled his eyes—Bakugo _was_ honestly tough, and in different circumstances he might have pulled that off, but if he thought that he was going escape from a full mount ground and pound with the back of his head against a _concrete floor_ before getting knocked out, he was delusional.

"Yeah, sure you would have." Allen said, his tone clearly conveying how little he believed that, "Anyways, plan A is shot now, thanks to you. Got any other brilliant ideas?"

"Of course I do," Bakugo replied, cracking his knuckles and turning to stare daggers at Midoriya, who had finally just about recovered from Allen's surprise attack, "plan B."

"Which is?"

"Smash those losers to pieces until they cry 'uncle'!"

Midoriya raised his fists into a fighting stance and stared his childhood bully down. His legs were trembling, but his voice was strong and clear. "You can say whatever you like Kacchan, but let me tell you one thing. My 'Deku' isn't going to mean 'useless' any more! From now on, I'm the 'Deku' whose vibe is never giving up!"

Uraraka stared in amazement as the determined boy echoed her words in the most direct and heartfelt way she had ever heard him speak. "Deku-kun…"

"You used to piss your pants in front of me!" Bakugo shouted back, "Look at you, you're so scared you're trembling. Don't think that I buy your little act for one second Deku!"

Midoriya wasn't going to let words from someone like Bakugo stop or intimidate him any more. "Go!" He shouted to Uraraka, putting his training to good use as Bakugo went on the offensive, ducking and weaving away from the explosive fueled blows, "Get to the bomb! I can handle this here!"

"Okay!" Uraraka acknowledged. She took off running for the nearby room at full speed before her vision was suddenly filled by an olive green blur that bowled her over with a shoulder check that roughly introduced her backside to the ground. "Owww," she moaned, rubbing her bruised tailbone, "that really hurt."

"Yeah, sorry about that," Allen said, "but I can't let you do that."

He wasn't pleased with the situation. Mostly because he was worried about Midoriya now that Bakugo was both angry and on his guard, but also because he _really_ wasn't comfortable fighting a cute girl half of his size. Logically, he knew that chivalry had no place in a fight with quirks, since traditional guy/girl strength disparities weren't really as relevant when superpowers were involved. However, when he factored in his fighting experience against hers…it made him feel like a bully.

"Sorry in advance." Activating his quirk at the lowest level, Allen sidestepped a clumsy lunging attack from Uraraka. As she moved past him, he stuck his foot out into her path and pushed the top of her back, knocking her off balance and sending her tumbling to the ground once more. Not giving up, she twisted her body in a sudden movement and swiped at his ankle from the ground, but he casually moved out just out of reach.

"Darn it!" She growled angrily, rubbing her sore behind and pulling herself to her feet. "You're really fast!"

"So I've been told." Allen replied in a conversational tone. He sighed. "Look, Uraraka-san, no offense, but with your quirk against mine, there's really no way that you can beat me. You should probably just give up. I'd really rather not hurt you or embarrass you any more—we're just on different levels, combat wise."

Uraraka bristled at Allen's matter of fact dismissal of her chances. "I really don't like being looked down on." She said darkly. Mirroring what she saw from Midoriya, she adopted a passable fighting stance, "If Deku-kun isn't quitting, than neither will I! Now prepare yourself, Allen-kun!"

(Monitoring Room)

"Dang," A somewhat plain looking kid with a martial arts gi and a tail remarked as he watched Allen avoid attack after attack from Uraraka, "Allen's really good."

"Hmm? What do you mean, Ojiro-san?" Sero, the tape user asked. "He looks like he's totally on the defensive against Uraraka!"

Indeed, after being offended by Allen, Uraraka began a furious and non-stop assault against the American student. Other than lightly pushing her away after dodging, Allen had refrained from attacking her.

"That's just it," Ojiro said, "she's been attacking non-stop for nearly a minute and even in that narrow hallway, she hasn't touched him once. She's not amazing or anything, definitely a total amateur at fighting, but even so, continuously dodging without fighting back in an enclosed space like this is…" Ojiro shook his head.

"Not to mention, he's making it look effortless." Yaoyorozu added, "Anyone can throw a punch with minimal instruction, but defensive skill like that takes years of sparring and training at a high level."

"He's just playing with her." Todoroki said with a cool but slightly disdainful look on his face, "He could have ended it multiple times already. It's not that he can't attack, he's refusing to attack." He shook his head, "Stupid."

"Well duh," the yellow-haired electricity user Kaminari replied, "look at the size of him compared to her! The dude looks like he could break her in half!"

Todoroki didn't respond, merely giving Kaminari a glance that suggested he was an idiot before turning his attention back to the screen.

"I wouldn't have used those words exactly, but young Todoroki is correct." All Might said, seizing upon this opportunity to bestow some of his wisdom and experience, "While young Allen's desire to not hurt his classmate is commendable, his decision to pointlessly prolong the fight is foolish as well as a complete disregard of the purpose of this exercise."

(Battle Site)

With the aid of his overwhelming combat sense, as well as some pinpoint application of his quirk, Bakugo was able to quickly assert control over the fight. Before long, Midoriya was on the run and it was all he could do to keep himself from being pulverized. Dodging another full force swing by little more than a hair, Midoriya thanked his lucky stars that he had been sparring with Allen for so many years—wearing helmets and padded gloves helped, but getting hit by Allen _hurt_ and if nothing else, it taught him to keep a calm head in the face of overwhelming force.

At the moment, Midoriya lacked the speed, control over his perk, and the reach to overcome Bakugo's various advantages, but he had the fighting experience to get some shots in and keep from getting hurt too badly—however, he knew time was not on his side and Bakugo wasn't giving him any room to come up with a plan to turn things around.

Despite his advantage, Bakugo was getting sick of Midoriya playing keep away. He wanted a fight, a straightforward slugfest where the toughest and the best came out on top—and it _would_ be him—not a dance where he threw punches and missed until the timer ran out and he won by default.

' _Fuck winning by default!_ ' he thought angrily, ' _That isn't winning, it's just_ not losing. _I want a total victory!_ ' Bakugo remembered what Allen said about the key to beating him. ' _I just need to fluster him, right?'_

After thinking for a second, Bakugo stopped his assault and very deliberately looked back and forth from Midoriya and Uraraka, eyes narrowed menacingly, "Oh, I see how it is…" he taunted loudly, "you think that putting on a brave face for your little crush there is going to impress her?"

Midoriya's eyes widened in surprise, caught off guard by the apparent non sequitur from his former friend. Where was he going with this?

"Eh?" Uraraka said, her own offensive against Allen screeching to a halt. She turned to stare at Midoriya, whose cheeks had gone red, "Crush? What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about this!" Bakugo roared. Taking advantage of her distracted state, he suddenly pounced, and caught her flat-footed with a shockwave that sent her flying through the air. Not done, Bakugo launched himself after her with an explosive boost of speed, and brought her impromptu flight to an end by spiking her into the ground like a human volleyball.

Allen stared in shock at Uraraka lying crumpled at his feet for a few seconds before reality sunk in. He angrily whirled on Bakugo. "What the hell was that?"

Bakugo shot Allen a nasty grin, "What do you mean, dumbass? I just decided to follow your plan. After all, it was _your_ idea for me to attack 'round face' over here because of Deku's little crush."

Midoriya stared at the unmoving form of Uraraka in inarticulate shock for a second before mechanically turning a furious gaze upon Bakugo. "You…you…"

"What's the matter, Deku?" Bakugo crowed. To twist the knife even further, he planted his foot on Uraraka like a big game hunter and ground her under his heel, making the girl groan out in pain, "Got nothing else to say? No more self-righteous monologues to give me? Not so cool now that your little girlfriend isn't watching anymore, are you?"

(Monitoring Room)

"Dude…" Kirishima, a red-haired boy with sharp teeth said, "That was _so_ notcool." The rest of the class broke out into murmurs of agreement along those lines. While his actions were technically within the rules of the exercise, Bakugo's merciless treatment of a teenage girl and his subsequent sadistic boasts about it weren't doing him any favors as far as the opinions of his peers were concerned.

All Might didn't lose his ever-present smile, but he was also a little concerned with the callousness that Bakugo was displaying towards his classmates. "It was an excellent tactic, and an important lesson," All Might said, "As I mentioned before, in any combat situation with villains, it is necessary to always be wary, for they are often similarly wily, and will take advantage of any opportunity they are given!" He let out a cough, "That being said, I don't want to see this kind of behavior from any of the rest of you." All Might's brow furrowed, " _How will you respond to this, Young Midoriya?"_

(Test Building)

"YOU BASTARD!" Midoriya shouted. Unconsciously channeling One for All, he launched himself at Bakugo with a level of speed far beyond anything Allen had ever seen from the boy. However, in a display of his insane reflexes, Bakugo managed to sway his head back in time, barely avoiding a thunderous hook.

Evasion or no, the superior mocking grin dropped off of Bakugo's face when he felt the wind from that missed punch ruffle blow his hair back. He knew that if he let something like that hit him, it would take his head clean off. Jumping back to avoid the vengeful assault as well as getting some space for his next move, Bakugo grinned and pointed one of his gauntleted hands in the direction of Midoriya and Uraraka, fingering a pin.

"Do you know what this is Deku?" he asked, "I had these gauntlets designed to store up more of my explosive sweat, increasing my power many times over. It won't kill you if it doesn't hit you directly," Bakugo shot a meaningful look over at Uraraka, who was beginning to stir from her bout of unconsciousness, but was still far too dazed and injured to be mobile, "but even if you think you can dodge it in time, your little girlfriend can't!"

Frozen in place by the threat, Midoriya paled when he realized what Bakugo was implying, "Kacchan, you _wouldn't!_ "

Bakugo grinned like a madman, "I'm the villain right now, Deku! I think that we _both_ know that I would!"

Allen grit his teeth in anger, Bakugo's actions in the last couple of minutes had been beyond the pale in his mind, but he reminded himself of his father's words: "operational etiquette says never criticize the mission plan in the middle of the mission." So for now, he merely watched as Bakugo carried out his new plan—which he had to admit was both ingenious and totally villain-like.

"Here's how it's gonna go, Deku." Bakugo said, voice filled with cruel satisfaction, "You're going to surrender, or I'm going to blow you and your partner to kingdom come." Midoriya clenched his fists so tight he was shaking, tears of frustration flooding his eyes. "I wanna hear you say the words, Deku!" Bakugo shouted, "Say, 'I give up!' Say it like the worthless little bitch you are!"

"I…" Midoriya struggled to say it, torn between his need to keep his friend safe and his burning desire to not quit. To not be forced to give in to Bakugo, _again._

"Say it!" Bakugo insisted, pulling on the pin a little, making Midoriya stiffen up a little, "Last chance Deku! I'll give you to the count of three! Three!"

" _Fuck this!_ " Allen thought, as he watched his friend wrestle with deciding between his pride and the safety of his teammate " _I'm not going_ _to watch this any longer!"_

"Two!"

Midoriya's body language took on a defeated, broken tone. Ultimately, Midoriya knew that in a contest between his pride and his friends, his friends would win every time.

"One!"

"Stop!" Midoriya cried. "I…I…gi—" Midoriya only got out the first few syllables before he felt his feet swept out from under him and his arm jerked into a painful position that was inescapable without doing himself serious injury.

"Don't even think about it," Allen said, wrapping the capture tape around Midoriya's wrist, "I might not be able to let you win, but I'm sure as hell not letting you give up!" Allen had had enough. At that point, he didn't care if Bakugo blew them all up in a rage—he was not going to allow his friend to debase himself for that bastard's amusement.

All Might's voice echoed in all of their ears, "Villain Team…wins." Though he tried to sound as cheery as usual, Midoriya could hear the disappointment in All Might's voice at his loss and his face burned with shame. When Allen asked him if he was okay, Midoriya deliberately avoided eye contact.

"WHAT THE FUCK, YOU DUMBASS!" Bakugo shrieked, voice cracking with rage, "I had that little bitch right where I wanted him!"  
"If you don't shut your damn mouth right fucking now, you won't like what happens Bakugo!" Allen shouted back.

He was furious. Furious that Bakugo had deliberately embarrassed Midoriya in front of his crush, furious that he had intentionally engineered a situation where Midoriya would have had to go back on his word while the entire class was watching. Mostly though, Allen was furious at himself for being _stupid_ enough to tell someone like Bakugo about Uraraka as an easy way to get Bakugo to agree to his plan—a plan that he didn't even carry out correctly in the first place.

"Oh yeah, and what are _you_ gonna do about it dumbass? I basically beat those two losers by myself, and I still have plenty of gas left in the tank to put you in your place too!"

"That's fucking _it!_ " Allen snapped. "You're dead!" He activated his quirk stormed over to Bakugo, intent on shutting his mouth with his fists.

" _That's enough._ " All Might's voice rang out from right behind Allen. He had appeared so quickly, they didn't even see him enter the hall. He didn't look or sound angry—in fact, he didn't even raise his voice. But there was something intangible in his voice, his gaze upon them that exuded an immense sense of pressure which convinced them that disobeying was not an option. Under the weight of All Might's focused disapproval, Allen and Bakugo were frozen in place, unable to move a muscle, or even breathe. And then, just as suddenly as it appeared, the pressure was gone, and Allen and Bakugo dropped to their knees in a cold sweat.

' _What the_ fuck _was that?'_ Allen wondered, staring down at his trembling hands. ' _Is this how villains feel facing him?'_ He shuddered, ' _No wonder so many criminals decided to go straight rather than risk tangling with him.'_

All Might gingerly picked up the dazed and injured Uraraka and placed her on a stretcher carried by two robots before turning to the three boys in the hall. "We're going to return to the observation room. We will review your performances there." He laid a sympathetic hand on Midoriya's shoulder. "Come, young Midoriya." He said gently, "It's time for your critique…it matters not if you win or lose, so long as you learn and improve from the experience."

(Back at the Observation Room)

The room was tense and awkward as the four students filed in, each in a radically different mood. Uraraka required only a short visit with Recovery Girl before she was deemed healthy enough to return to class for her results, although she did look rather exhausted. Midoriya, unsurprisingly, was withdrawn and depressed over his loss, and occasionally shot betrayed looks over at Allen. Rather than being pleased at his victory, Allen was visibly pissed off; he alternated between staring a hole into the ground and sending death glares Bakugo's way. Bakugo on the other hand, practically strutted into the room—sure, he was upset at Allen for ruining his cruel little game with Midoriya, but he knew who was really responsible for winning that match— _everybody knew_ —and that was just how it was supposed to be.

"Hmm, while there was room for improvement on all fronts, I'd say that young Bakugo was the best in this exercise." Bakugo preened under the praise as All Might went on to clarify the reasons why he thought this was the case. "While his recklessness at the beginning of the match nearly resulted in his elimination, he was able to rally and made excellent use of young Midoriya's desire to protect his friend against him."

All Might's voice took on a serious tone, making the students subconsciously draw themselves up a little taller, and listen closely. "As pro heroes, you will inevitably encounter a hostage situation. While many of the prominent villains that you see on the news possess powerful quirks that can compete with heroes, the vast majority are low-level thugs who are simply outmatched. And often, when they are driven into a corner, they take advantage of the helpless in order to improve their chances." All Might caught Allen's eye for a second as he said this. "Obviously, how you should respond to these situations depends on the circumstances, but this is something that you must all be prepared for—now, on to areas that need improvement. Young Allen."

Allen composed himself and forced the glare off of his face, "Yes Sensei?"

"You did well in supporting your teammate, despite what clearly seems to be some level of animosity between you two."

"Well that's one way of putting it." Jirou, a rocker-looking girl with earlobes that looked like headphone jacks snarked.

Kaminari grinned, "Yeah, that's a pretty mild description of the mutually sustained hate boners that these two have for each other."

Both Bakugo and Allen sputtered in outrage at this, "What the fuck/hell did you just say?" they asked in stereo, "I don't/do not have a _hate boner_ for that asshole/dumbass!" The entire class laughed at their perfectly synchronized denial.

"Dudes, those are some pretty hateful boners."

"*Ahem*," All Might coughed, getting the class's attention once more, "As I was saying, being able to put aside your personal issues for the sake of the team was an excellent sign of maturity and professionalism. However," he added, "your fight with young Uraraka is where I must rebuke you. You had many opportunities to finish your fight with her and move on to support your teammate, but you did not do so. Tell me Allen, why did you fail to put forth your best effort against her? Do you think so little of your classmates?"

Allen glanced at Uraraka, who looked away from him with an angry expression. "I didn't want to hurt her." He admitted, "I've been doing combat training since I was eight, and I'm really big and strong for my age. The person who trained me never held back against me and he never let me hold back either." He held up his hardened tactical gloves, "With this equipment, I can easily break bones with a solid hit. I know you said not to hold back, but don't want to do that to my friends." He turned to Uraraka, "I'm sorry if you thought I was looking down on you. For what it's worth, I think you put up a good fight." Uraraka didn't say anything in response, but nodded slightly, looking a little mollified by his explanation and apology.

All Might laughed. "Good, just remember in the future to fight with everything you have! We can only help each other grow when we all give our best efforts! Now, young Midoriya." All Might's smile dimmed at the dejected look on Midoriya's face, "There's no need for that face, young man. You did very well. Your opening move against young Bakugo was excellent, and would very likely have worked if not for the interference of his teammate." All Might ignored Bakugo's scoff. "This goes for you as well young Uraraka," Uraraka looked up at the mention of her name. "There are times when you will encounter opponents who are simply beyond you at the moment. To this there is only one solution: train harder, become better, and go beyond your limits. Plus Ultra!"

(After School, Front Steps)

Allen rushed to catch up with the rapidly departing Midoriya. Iida was by his side consoling him, and Uraraka's absence was notable. "Yo, Midoriya! Wait up!"

Midoriya stiffened, and stopped for a second at the sound of his voice, but resumed walking without looking back. Allen frowned; this was not like his friend. He had been trying to talk to him about how the battle went for the rest of the school day, but Midoriya had been avoiding him like the plague. He caught up with a burst of speed and circled around them. Midoriya was staring at the ground, avoiding eye-contact.

"What the hell dude, you just gonna leave me behind like that?" Allen looked around, "Where's Uraraka-san? I wanted to talk to her again about the battle."

At the question, Midoriya looked up from the ground at Allen, taking the larger boy aback at the sight of his swollen, red eyes. He had been crying recently. "Whoa," Allen said, "I know that losing to Bakugo was a bummer man, but it's not the end of the world. What's wrong?"

Midoriya did not reply, but Iida did, with some heat. "Uraraka-kun won't be joining us for a while. Her newfound knowledge of Midoriya-kun's attraction to her has made her feel awkward, and she wants some time to sort her emotions out."

Allen felt like somebody had just punched him in the gut. "I…I'm sorry, man." He said dumbly, "I don't know what to say."

"Perhaps you should not say anything." Iida replied angrily, "After all, it was your inability to keep silent about affairs that were none of your business that resulted in this situation in the first place!"

Allen flushed, his defensive anger beginning to overtake his guilt. "I didn't mean for this to happen!" He protested, "I wanted to keep Midoriya from fighting Bakugo and I wanted to win!"

"Is that so?" Midoriya replied with a voice so quiet Allen could barely hear him, "Well that sure worked out well didn't it?" He turned and gave Allen a sorrowful look that immediately banished all of Allen's anger and flooded him with even more guilt than before, "Do you see why I told you I couldn't just 'ask her out', Allen?" Midoriya asked quietly, "It's because I knew that this would happen. And now I might have lost one of my only friends because you wanted to win. I hope it was worth it." He let out a sniff. "I'm going home. Can you do me a favor and just…leave me alone for a while?"

Allen stood there speechless as Midoriya and Iida brushed past him and walked away. ' _No_ ,' he thought, ' _it wasn't worth it at all_.' Allen had never had a victory feel so hollow in his life. ' _I have to make this right…somehow._ '

 **Another day, another chapter rewritten. I'm pretty pleased with the way the edits are going. For those of you new to the story, just be glad that you didn't wade through the mediocrity that was the first draft of this chapter. Anyways, for now, please leave a review to let me know what you think.**


	7. Hail to the Chief

Ch 7: Hail to the Chief

"Allen."

Allen stared blankly into his eighth bowl of cereal, mindlessly shoveling the grains and milk into his mouth as he brooded over the disastrous outcome of his battle trial. " _How the hell am I going to fix this?_ " he thought, " _I already apologized, but I've never upset Midoriya like this before._ "

"Allen."

" _Nah,_ " he shook his head, " _he'll get over it…I think. I mean, I've been his best friend for three years! There's no way that he'll toss me as a friend just because of a girl, he barely knows right?_ "

"ALLEN!"

Allen jerked to attention, "Jesus! _What?_ "

Susan Martin crossed her arms and let out an irritated huff, "I've been trying to get your attention for the last five minutes! Something must be bothering you, so what's up?"

"Sorry mom," Allen apologized, "I'm just worried about some drama at school. It's not a big deal."

Susan raised an eyebrow—you couldn't survive raising a teenage boy without developing a fine 'bullshit detector'. "You aren't acting like it's no big deal. I haven't seen you look so down since you were turned down by your 7th grade crush. Is it girl problems again?"

Allen flushed in embarrassment at the memory. He'd developed an emotional skin thicker than a rhino's since then, but he really hadn't handled that first rejection well. It was for the best really; it never would have worked out between him and Yamashiro-sensei anyways. "Sort of…" Allen replied hesitantly, "It involves me, but it isn't me who's having the problem, exactly…it's Midoriya."

Now Susan was intrigued, "Oh really?" She leaned forward with a conspiratorial smile, always up for a little gossip. "Do tell. I might be able to offer a little sagely advice." Susan had always liked Midoriya; she thought he was unbearably cute. The first time that they met he had been so timid and nervous that she wanted to pick him up and squeeze him like a teddy bear—so she did. Susan still laughed whenever she remembered his fiery blush and the panicked look on his freckled face.

"Well, uh, where to begin…" Allen furrowed his brow as he looked for the words, "So there's this girl—a classmate of ours—and Midoriya's totally got a thing for her."

"Aww," Susan cooed, "that's so sweet! He really is a nice boy! Is she cute?"

Allen nodded, "Yeah, she is. She's really nice, too. I think she may have even liked him too, at least a little."

" _Liked_ him?" Susan asked, emphasizing the past tense.

Allen nodded morosely, "Yeah, I dunno if that's still true, but I basically fu—screwed up," he hastily corrected himself seeing the dangerous glint in Susan's eye at the almost curse slipping out of his mouth, "I had reasons for doing so, but I let it slip that he had a crush to the absolute worst person possible, and now she knows and she's freaking out over it and distancing herself from Midoriya because of it." He hung his head, "Now Midoriya's pissed at me and it's all my fault."

"Hmm," Susan said, rubbing her chin contemplatively, "I see. While that is just about the most "high school" thing I have ever heard, that's certainly not an easy situation." Allen growled at his mom's trivialization of his worries. "You said you let it slip to "the worst possible person"…who is that?"

Allen's face grew stormy, " _Bakugo_ ," he spat, the name tasting like bile on his lips. "I told him about it so that he would cooperate with me on a team exercise. To make things worse, not only did that _bastard_ not go along with the original plan anyways, but he used it to hurt Midoriya!" Allen clenched his fists, bending the cheap metal spoon in his hands beyond repair. "I'm gonna make him pay for that!"

Susan sighed. She had never met the infamous Bakugo herself, but she had been on the receiving end of enough angry rants about the ill-tempered teen to have a very poor opinion of him. "Allen," she said, "sweetheart. You are a good boy, and I love you, but you really are stupid sometimes. Why would you _ever_ think that your friend's biggest bully about his crush was a good idea?"

"I know it was a bad idea now, okay?" Allen snapped before deflating, "Hell, to be honest, I knew it was a bad idea at the time, too. I just…I knew that Midoriya would hate it if I went easy on him, and I really wanted to win…I fu—screwed over my best friend because I wanted to win a stupid game. I _know_ I didn't have to do it. We had every advantage from the very start! I might hate Bakugo's guts and I often wish that he would get hit by a truck, but he's _damn_ good at this… _I'm_ damn good at this! I didn't need to play dirty but I did it anyways…I'm the worst."

Susan merely sat quietly, listening intently through the entire tirade. "You feel like you betrayed your friend."

"Yeah, I do." Allen replied, running a hand though his hair, and gripping the sides of his head in an anxious gesture, "And I don't know how I'm going to fix this."

Susan lightly whapped Allen on the top of his head, "Don't be such a big baby," she chastised him with a smile, "you'll be fine. Did you personally try to hurt him?"

"No."

"Did you mean for him to get hurt at all?"

"No."

"Then cheer up. You two are young. This might seem like the end of the world right now, but Midoriya is the kind of boy who couldn't hold a grudge if you gave him a bucket. It might take a little time, but you'll find a way to make things right. You're a kind boy with a good heart. I believe in you."

Allen blushed at the praise, "If you say so." He replied before glancing at his watch and going pale, " _Shit!_ The train leaves in fifteen minutes! Thanks mom, gottagobye!" Allen's voice climbed in pitch as he zoomed around the house in a literal blur sending objects flying around as he got ready at high speed and shot out the door.

Susan let out a laugh as she cleaned up the dishes left on the table by her panicked son. "Hmm?" She said in confusion when she glanced at the clock above sink, "What was he talking about? He's way ahead of schedule." She shook her head, "Brand new watch and it's already running fast again. How does he do that every time?"

(Yuuei—Train Station)

Allen was sweating—he had had to wait quite a while for the next train to show up. Not as long as he'd expected though, which was odd, because in all of his years living in Japan the trains had always run exactly…on…time…"Oh Goddamnit. " He muttered, checking his phone and seeing that his watch was nearly 30 minutes fast. "Again!? Really? It's a digital watch, how does it even get ahead?" Grumbling, Allen re-synched his watch with the time on his phone. "Oh well, I guess being early for a change isn't that bad."

Leaving the station, he began his walk down the picturesque tree-lined walkway when he saw the shapely form of Yaoyorozu ahead of him, walking and chatting with a smaller girl was unmistakably Asui. Allen grinned and picked up his pace to catch up with them. " _It will be nice to see some friendly faces before I have to deal with any other crap today."_ "Good morning ladies!" Allen greeted brightly, "I hope you're doing well today!"

"Martin-san." Yaoyorozu replied stiffly, taking Allen aback at her cold stare. She had been coolly formal with him in all of their interactions thus far, but even during Allen's flustered and embarrassing moment when he had first seen her in costume, she had not responded with this level of icy contempt. Asui was silently staring at him too, but her face was as unreadable as usual, so Allen did not know what to make of that.

"Um…" Allen said, "Did I do something to upset you? You're looking at me like I kicked a puppy or something."

"Ochako-chan told us about what happened." Asui replied in her usual blunt manner, "Not very nice, trying to sic someone like Bakugo on her. Or humiliating her by toying with her."

Allen blanched; he had no idea that the rumor mill would be so efficient. He had really hoped to get ahead of this and give his side of the story before he came out looking like an asshole—but one thing Asui said stuck in his craw. "Now just hold on a minute, Tsu-chan," he shot back, feeling defensive, "I already explained in class why I fought Uraraka-san the way I did. If I had tried to put her in a sleeper hold, she definitely would have gotten me with her quirk, and I'm not exactly comfortable with the idea of punching a girl half my size unconscious either!"

"And siccing Bakugo-san on her?" Yaoyorozu asked, cold glare dissipated slightly, but still present, "And what about using Midoriya-san's feelings for her to get him to do it?"

" _Jesus Christ, Uraraka._ " Allen thought dryly, " _Did you really have tell them everything_?" Allen hung his head, "Look, I know it was a crappy move now. I wanted to win, but I didn't want to fight Uraraka-san for the reasons I mentioned above, and I _really_ didn't want Bakugo to fight Midoriya for reasons that I think all of you saw yesterday."

Yaoyorozu and Asui nodded in acknowledgement of this point—the fight between Bakugo and Midoriya had clearly been more than just a battle exercise. Even without hearing the dialogue between the two, the whole class could tell that it had gotten personal.

"Look, if I could go back and do it differently, I would. I would rather have _lost_ than had it turn out the way it did." He began ticking off fingers, "My best friend is pissed at me, the first girl I've ever seen treat him like he was worth the air he breathes is avoiding him, and now a good portion of the class thinks that I'm as big of a scumbag as Bakugo!"

Asui patted Allen on the arm with a moist hand, "I know you aren't a scumbag Ren-chan, a scumbag wouldn't get themselves hurt saving me during the entrance exam."

" _Ren-chan?_ " Allen thought, bemused by the nickname. " _I guess my name is kind of hard to pronounce in Japanese_."

Yaoyorozu sighed, looking away and crossing her arms underneath her chest. "I suppose I judged you too harshly without hearing the full story, Martin-san. I don't believe that you had malicious intent, merely bad judgment."

Allen winced, " _I'll just have to take what I can get with her. I guess it's better that she thinks I'm an idiot rather than a scumbag."_ "…Thanks for hearing me out." Allen said, "I have a favor to ask you both…could you please speak to Uraraka-san for me? I'd like to talk with her today in private and fix this if I can."

Asui and Yaoyorozu exchanged another glance, making Allen feel as if he had said something stupid. "I'm…not sure that would be a good idea, Martin-san." Yaoyorozu said, "Not now, at least."

"Ochako-chan is still mad at you." Asui croaked.

Yaoyorozu nodded, "There's a good chance that she won't listen to anything you say."

"But it's not even about me!" Allen protested, "I just want her to stop avoiding Midoriya! He would never pressure her about his crush! He wasn't even planning on her ever finding out! He's perfectly fine just being friends!"

"That doesn't matter." Yaoyorozu replied, shaking her head at Allen's naivety, "Obviously this isn't a perfect analogy, but how much would you honestly listen if Bakugo-san came to you and tried to convince you of anything?"

Allen froze—outside of a situation where the two were forced to work together, he couldn't honestly say that he would give Bakugo a chance to explain himself. "…She's that mad at me?" Allen asked quietly instead of answering the question.

Yaoyorozu shook her head, "Probably not even close. I _did_ say that it wasn't a perfect analogy."

"But you don't get over being toyed with and used as a hostage in overnight." Asui chimed in, "Ochako-chan actually has a lot of pride. She thinks that it's her fault that her team lost. She's more upset with herself than anything else. Just give her time."

"But I—" Allen began before being cut off by Asui.

"We'll talk to her about Midoriya-chan for you." She interrupted, "Right, Momo-chan?"

Yaoyorozu nodded, "I don't know much about Midoriya-san, but if what you say about his intentions is true than I will do my best to help."

Allen sighed in relief, "Thanks girls. That makes me feel a lot better." Allen perked up when he say a crowd of people huddled around the gates of the school, "Hmm? What's going on here?" He asked, getting the two girls to shrug in response.

As they approached, a pretty brown haired woman approached them with a predatory gleam in her eyes. "Excellent!" She said. "Some Yuuei students!" She shoved a microphone in their faces. "Excuse me," she said, "could you give us a statement about All Might being a teacher here? What kind of lessons does he teach? What is your opinion of him?"

Allen helpless looked around for Asui and Yaoyorozu for help, only to find that they had made themselves scarce, tossing him to the wolves so to speak. "Uh…well," he stammered before clearing his throat and leaned in to speak into the mic, "we've only had one class with him, so I can't really say that much about his lessons…" seeing the frustrated expression of the reporter at his non-answer, Allen rapidly added, "but I've looked up to All Might ever since I was a little kid." Allen smiled at the reporter, "He's actually the reason I wanted to become a hero in the first place, so getting the chance to learn from him is kind of a dream come true—don't get me wrong, all of our teachers are amazing in their own right, but how often does anyone get the chance to learn from the absolute best in the world? I think that's the case for most of us here."

"Ok, cut!" the reporter lady said, before giving Allen a grateful smile that made him blush a little, "Good job, kid. That was the only usable response that we've gotten so far. What's your name?"

"Allen Martin."

The reporter raised an eyebrow at the western name, "A gaijin, huh? Interesting. I look forward to seeing good things from you Martin-kun." She shot Allen a grin and wink, which made him turn red and he could hear her laughter as he walked away to get to class.

(Later, in class)

"I hope that you are all rested up from yesterday's battle trial," Aizawa droned as he shuffled through a stack of papers, "I took the liberty of looking at your marks and evaluations…Uraraka-san," he said blandly, getting the girl in question to look up warily, "don't allow yourself to become distracted like that again. Becoming emotionally compromised in the field due to a few words is an easy way to an early grave."

Uraraka clenched her fists and stared down at her desk, her face hot with shame, "Yes sensei," she replied, "I'll do better next time."

Aizawa stared at her for a few long seconds. "I'm sure you will." He replied, "Mashirao-san, Iida-san." Ojiro and Iida flinched; they weren't expecting a glowing review after the swift and embarrassingly one-sided defeat that they had suffered at the hands of Todoroki. "Relax," he said, "it's unfortunate, but every hero will eventually face unfavorable circumstances where an opponent's abilities check their own completely, or are simply beyond their ability to handle—that's why heroes collaborate and form teams in the first place. In your case, surrendering after being caught by Todoroki-san's ice was the only rational move. Even I would hesitate to face that quirk in an enclosed space like that."

"Yes, sensei." Iida and Ojiro replied, looking relieved that they hadn't received the dressing down that they had expected.

"Now let's get on with homeroom notices," Aizawa said, looking utterly disinterested by the entire process, "I hate to spring this on you all, but…" he paused for several seconds, letting the class sweat over what he could possibly be throwing at them now, "we need to pick a class president."

"FINALLY, SOMETHING SCHOOL LIKE!" The class exclaimed as one, making Aizawa clean out his ears at the sudden noise, sighing as one by one, the majority of the class eagerly put themselves forward as candidates for the role, even Midoriya, to Aizawa's surprise.

"BE QUIET!" A loud voice boomed out from the back of the room. The classroom went silent and turned around to see Iida glaring at them, "This is a task laden with responsibility where you must carry and pull everyone's weight! It is not something that can be taken on with half-hearted feelings!" he lectured, glaring at a few choice members of the class, "Just because you'd like to do it doesn't mean you can! It requires the trust and admiration of those around you! The only worthy leader will emerge from a democratic choice reflecting the will of the people!" Iida raised his hand as high as he could, "That is why this must be settled with a vote!"

" _He says that, but he clearly wants this more than anyone else here!"_ The class thought at the same time.

"It's still too early for any of us to have developed trust in each other," Asui pointed out.

"Yeah!" Kirishima loudly agreed, "Everyone will just vote for themselves!"

" _Speak for yourselves,"_ Allen thought, " _the whole thing sounds like a pain in the ass to me._ " Hero school or not, class reps only got mundane annoying duties and Allen wanted no part in it—he had absolutely no desire to waste his time cleaning blackboards, telling people to get seated or riding people's ass about their homework. " _Actually…_ " Allen thought, looking contemplatively at the officious Iida, who was asking Aizawa if an election for the position would be acceptable, " _Iida really_ would _be perfect for the role huh?_ "

"As long as you come to a decision before the deadline," Aizawa cut in, zipping himself up in his sleeping bag, "I don't care what you do." With that statement, he propped himself up against the wall and promptly dozed off.

On request, Yaoyorozu produced twenty identical scraps of paper and a small container to hold them. One by one the students wrote down their choice on the scrap and deposited it in the box at the front of the classroom. Allen felt like he had made the correct choice as he slipped his paper bearing Iida's name into the box. As to why Allen didn't vote for Midoriya, who had also thrown his hat into the ring, he had purely selfish motives—he didn't want class rep duties to cut into any time for them to hang out.

"EHHH?" The classroom exclaimed as one, "A three-way tie! Seriously?" As expected, just about everyone had only one vote—which they had cast for themselves—everyone except for Midoriya, Iida, and Yaoyorozu that is, each of whom were tied at two votes each.

"You shitting me?" Bakugo exploded, angry that he had been beaten, "Who the fuck voted for Deku?"

"A tie?" Iida clenched his fists, he was a strange combination of happy and frustrated—if he had cast a vote for himself like everyone else, he would have won, but he was pleased that two of his classmates recognized him as a leader.

"With no clear winner," Aizawa said, "we'll have a run-off between those three."

"Come on guys," Allen spoke up suddenly, getting the attention of everybody, as he'd been uncharacteristically silent throughout the entire process. "There's really only one obvious candidate."

"Don't tell me that you're talking about yourself, dumbass!" Bakugo said, "You didn't even get a single vote. Did you forget how to spell your name?"

"No, I voted for Iida." Allen replied dryly, "He can have the stupid job, he obviously wants it more than anyone. And have you met the guy? He's so damn serious and responsible that he probably came out of the womb ten minutes early wearing a onesie." The class laughed at Allen's poke at their overly serious classmate.

"Allen-kun?" Iida replied in shock. He'd have never guessed that Allen was one of the ones who would vote for him, or that he would actively promote him for the position—they tolerated each other for Midoriya's sake, but they weren't exactly what he would call friends, especially after he had been so openly hostile to him the day before.

"He does have the look down with the glasses and everything!" Uraraka added, making the class laugh even more, though she decided to keep the fact that she had cast her vote for Iida to herself.

"If you're done campaigning," Aizawa interrupted, looking irritated that this was taking so long, "let's get this over with…Yaoyorozu-san?" Yaoyorozu nodded and produced another twenty slips of paper. It took longer for all of the slips to be turned in this time, as the students had to actually think about their choice rather than just writing their name down, but within five minutes, everybody was waiting anxiously as Aizawa counted the votes. "Okay," he said, "with the new totals, Iida-san is your new class president with eleven votes, and Yaoyorozu is the vice president with seven votes." Iida looked like he was about to cry with happiness, while Yaoyorozu stood beside him with a blandly dissatisfied look on her face.

"Tough luck Midoriya." Kirishima said, patting the third place candidate on the back.

"I-it's okay," Midoriya replied with a smile, "if I really think about it, Iida-san really is the natural choice for this…even I voted for him this time." Iida shot Midoriya a grateful glance.

Later, Allen stopped as he felt a hand grab his shoulder while the class was on the way to lunch. "May I speak with you in private for a moment, Allen-kun?"

"Sure thing." Allen replied as he turned to face Iida, who had a serious look on his face, "What is it Iida?"

"I appreciate your support in the classroom," Iida replied, "I am certain that I would not have been elected without it."

"You're welcome." Allen replied, wondering where Iida was going with this, as his face certainly wasn't expressing any gratitude.

"However, I want you know that this doesn't change anything between us." Iida said with a hard look in his eyes—for once he was not making any grandiose hand motions as he talked. "I don't think that you are a bad person," he conceded, "but I find the disrespectful and crude way that you comport yourself highly distasteful. Furthermore, Midoriya-kun and Uraraka-kun are my friends, and because of your thoughtlessness, you hurt them and drove us apart—that is unacceptable to me, and until this is fixed, I won't forgive you."

Allen stared silently at Iida for a few moments after the serious teen had finished his tirade. Then he broke into a grin, greatly confusing Iida. "Damn, Iida!" Allen responded with a chuckle, playfully slapping him on the back, "You really are a stand-up guy aren't you? I knew I made the right choice."

"What are you playing at, Allen-kun?" Iida replied stiffly, "I'm not stupid or unobservant. You may pretend otherwise, but I'm well aware that you don't actually like me."

Allen shrugged, nonchalant about being called out. "Yeah, you're right." He admitted breezily, "To be perfectly honest, pretty much everything about you pisses me off. You're stuck up, way too uptight, and you have no sense of humor." Iida ground his teeth at this, glaring at Allen. "But," Allen added, "you're also a loyal friend—it takes some serious balls to stand up for somebody that you've only known for a couple of days." To punctuate his point Allen took a step into Iida's personal space and laid a heavy hand on his shoulder, giving it a hard squeeze and looming over him with a friendly smile that didn't reach his eyes.

Iida didn't break eye contact or soften his glare in the least, but he did swallow hard as he recalled the quirk assessments and how thoroughly Allen had physically outclassed him in nearly every category. "What is your point?" Iida asked, "I assume that you are going somewhere with this?"

Allen released Iida's shoulder and took a step back, making the slightly smaller boy let out a tense breath that he hadn't even realized he had been holding. "Midoriya is my best friend. He went out of his way to befriend the giant gaijin idiot when nobody else would. He's one of the greatest guys I know, but because he's naturally soft-spoken, assholes like Bakugo have treated him like garbage his entire life. My point, _Iida_ , is that as much as your holier-than-thou attitude pisses me off, I respect you more." Allen shrugged before turning around, "I honestly don't care if you ever like me," he added as he began walking away, "as long as you're willing to stand by Midoriya I'll continue to play along. And who knows, I might not even have to fake it someday."

Iida looked pensive as he watched Allen walked down the silent hallway and made his way to the cafeteria.

 **AN: How's it going everybody? Another chapter bites the dust. Not too much progression in this one, but I had a lot of fun writing this. A huge thank you to the people who take the time to leave a review. Any feedback I can get only makes me stronger. See you next week!**


	8. An Unforeseen Situation Just Occured

Chapter 8: An Unexpected Situation

In the days since the battle trial, Allen had exchanged numbers with both Momo and Asui on the premise that he wanted to check in on their progress with talking to Uraraka. While he was at it, he figured he could take advantage of the opportunity and build a little rapport with the two of them—though he was definitely interested in focusing on Momo for obvious reasons.

However, Allen found that all of his efforts to win over the class beauty were only rewarded with frustration as his every inquiry was either met with blunt yes or no responses or general vague answers with as little effort as possible put into them. Normally, he would have taken this as a gigantic, flashing neon sign that she wasn't interested and simply given up, but strangely, Momo hadn't ever ignored any of Allen's texts. Every message had been answered within a few minutes of being read, and he didn't exactly get the feeling of being blown off, but Allen didn't know what to make of these mixed signals and increasingly felt like he was banging his head against a brick wall.

A gregarious person by nature, Allen had gone out of his way to introduce himself to the entire class, if not befriend them. Some of them he clicked with right away: Kirishima's gung ho and friendly demeanor was infectious; the energetic and athletic Ashido was basically a female version of himself, and they commiserated over their poor academics; Jirou had impeccable taste in music, and her sarcastic wit repeatedly cracked him up. Sato and Shoji were easy to relate to over their shared experience of almost always being the largest person in any given room, and they all agreed on how strange it felt to be dwarfed by All Might, who was a full head taller than them. Obviously, he didn't get along with everybody.

His relationship with Bakugo was just as toxic and hateful as ever, and he and Iida were at odds over the drama with Midoriya. Other than begrudgingly acknowledging him as the ace of the class, Allen didn't know what to make of Todoroki since the boy determinedly kept to himself, rarely sparing a word for any of his classmates.

Mineta on the other hand…

After Mineta had ended up last in the quirk assessment, Allen had mostly forgiven the smaller boy for voting to keep Midoriya's initial bad sprinting time since he blamed Aizawa for putting everyone in a shitty position to begin with. Deciding to give him another chance, Allen had enjoyed some locker room chatter with Mineta and Kaminari over their shared appreciation of the girls in their class, but there was something about Mineta that set off Allen's social danger sense. In preserving his friendship with Midoriya, Allen had grown used to ignoring the teenage instinct to drop associations with 'undesirables', but when Allen saw Mineta openly trying to grope Momo during the battle trial, he concluded that he had better listen to his instincts and socially separate himself from the little lecher.

Regardless, in a major step up from his middle school experience, Allen had a fairly good relationship with most of the class, which led right back to his frustration with Momo. People tended to only have one of two reactions to Allen, they either liked him or they hated him, and the fact that Allen couldn't actually tell whether Momo liked him or hated him drove him up the wall.

Asui on the other hand, had quickly risen to the top of the list of Allen's favorite people in the class who weren't named Midoriya. He respected the way that she spoke her mind, never mincing words or sugarcoating anything. Her blunt, deadpan assessments of situation often left him in hysterics. Beyond that, he found that she was an excellent sounding board, calmly and patiently taking in everything Allen had to say during his many, _many_ rants. Allen had quickly come to rely on her for that after Midoriya began giving him the cold shoulder.

This growing friendship was the reason why Allen gave the frog-like girl a significant look as they filed onto the bus taking them to their field trip. After plopping down near the front of the bus, Allen whipped out his phone.

"Okay, Tsu-chan," he said, "take a look at this and tell me what you think."

* * *

MIDORIYA IZUKU

Sent Mon, 20:23

You ready for All Might's first class tomorrow?

Sent Mon, 20:25

U bet your ass I am!

I've been wanting 2 c All Might again since

I was 8!

Sent Tues, 16:50

Midoriya, I'm so sorry about Uraraka

I didn't mean 4 any of this 2 happen

Pls call me back

Sent Tues, 18:30

Hey man, pls answer your phone

I know your mad at me but I just want 2 explain

Sent Tues, 20:02

I guess u don't want 2 talk just yet,

I'll c u tomorrow. We'll talk then, ok?

Sent Wed, 06:45

Morning dude. I'm actually early today so I'll

C you in class, I guess. I'm gonna do what I can to fix this,

I promise.

Sent Wed, 16:30

Iida's a good guy. He'll be a good class rep, I think.

Hope u aren't mad that I voted for him over u,

What do u think our field trip tomorrow is gonna b?

Sent Wed, 20:05

Srsly, dude? R u gonna cold shoulder me over

this forever? Pls respond, I'm starting 2 feel like a stalker

C u tomorrow.

Sent Thurs, 07:20

Field trip day! Yaoyorozu said that it's gonna be

some kind of rescue training. Sounds right up your alley.

C u in a bit.

* * *

Allen let out a sigh as he scrolled through the message chain on his phone and glanced over at Midoriya, who was quietly chatting with Iida at the back of the bus.

"You see what I'm dealing with here?" He grumbled to Asui before putting his phone away. "He's never been this mad at me before. He hasn't spoken with me since the battle trial. He's even talked to _Bakugo_ and _he's_ the one who actually ruined everything! What the fuck?"

"You're right," she said, putting a finger on her chin, "this message chain does make you look like a stalker, ribbit."

Allen groaned. " _That's_ what you took from all of this? Come on Tsu-chan, I'm seriously asking for your help here!"

Asui stared unblinkingly at Allen, "I talked to Ochako-chan like I said I would, but it hasn't even been two full days since the battle trial, ribbit. You're going to have to be a little more patient."

Allen crossed his arms and sulked, "'Be patient', huh? God, you sound like my parents right now—I get that same advice like a freaking broken record, and I'm getting sick of it."

"If you keep hearing the same advice, you should probably take that as a sign then, ribbit."

"Whose side are you even on here?" Allen complained.

"You asked for my opinion and I gave it to you. It's not my fault if you don't want to listen, Ren-chan."

"Okay, _fine_. I'll be more _patient_." Allen spat petulantly, "This is bumming me out, so let's change the subject."

"Fine by me, your whining was starting to get annoying anyways, ribbit." Asui replied, completely deadpan.

"Ugh!" Allen doubled over as if her words were a physical blow and the nearby students who could overhear them started snickering.

"Dang Tsuyu," Ashido laughed, "that was totally brutal!"

"Savage." Kaminari added gleefully.

"Wrecked." Sero continued the dogpile.

"Shut up! I was _not_ whining," Allen protested, "I was complaining! There's a subtle but important difference!"

"A real man doesn't do either!" Kirishima added with a shark-like grin, "They simply endure, standing tall and firm in the face of adversity!"

"Phrasing!" Mineta snorted with laughter.

"That's a dumb thing to say." Allen argued, ignoring Mineta. "There are plenty of times that you should complain! If a restaurant brings you the wrong order, you don't just eat it, you tell the server so they can get you the right food. Or if you order something and it shows up broken, you should complain and get your money back! Not complaining when you've been wronged isn't manly; it's being a doormat! Complaining serves a purpose, whining is just bitching for the sake of bitching!" The surrounding passengers who heard this tirade went silent for a moment as they considered Allen's point.

At least, until Asui spoke up once more. "You do know that by your own logic, you were still whining, right?"

Allen dropped his head into his hands as the class broke out into laughter once again. "I just can't win with you, can I? Why do I take this abuse?"

"Hey Allen," Sato said, deciding to spare Allen from any more self-inflicted humiliation, "mind if I ask you something about your quirk? Something's been sticking in my mind since the assessment test."

Allen raised his head at unexpected request, grateful for the change of subject. He shot a furtive glance over at Midoriya, who had heard the question and quirk otaku that he was, was listening attentively.

"Sure thing," Allen replied, "shoot."

"Your quirk definitely let you move faster, but you still got a pretty normal score on the standing long jump. I've never heard of a physical augmentation quirk that increased speed but not strength."

Allen looked around and saw that not just Midoriya, but everybody, including people like Bakugo and Todoroki were listening as well. "It isn't actually a physical augmentation quirk. I don't get any stronger or faster when I use it."

"Ehhhh?" Ashido replied, looking confused, "How is that possible? You blew past everybody in the 50 meter dash like it was nothing."

Allen scratched his head, unsure of how to put it. "I dunno the scientific details of how it works, but from my perspective, rather than speeding up, it's more like everything else gets slower."

"It's a time manipulation quirk." Everybody glanced over in surprise at Midoriya—this was the first time he had responded to anything Allen had said in days.

" _Time manipulation?_ " Kirishima exclaimed, "That's so badass!" He activated his quirk and held up his hands clashing them together with an audible crack. "My quirk is useful in a fight and all, but it's pretty dull. It would be nice to have a flashy quirk like that, you could definitely get a lot more done."

"Don't sell yourself short," Allen said, "I think your quirk would be awesome for a pro—being able to move and react faster than anyone else doesn't help me if I can't hurt you. Forget punching or kicking, would I even be able to choke you out in that form?"

Kirishima grinned, "Thanks, man! And nope! You wouldn't be able to compress my skin enough to cut off circulation, you'd probably cut yourself on my chin for even trying."

"Fighting huh?" Aoyama Yuga spoke up, "It's true that pro heroes do a lot of that, but a lot of it is more like a popularity contest. My navel laser is both strong and beautiful, so it's sure to be popular!"

Allen spared Aoyama a glance. He didn't really know what to make of the guy other the fact that he was weird. And also, probably gay. Not that he had a problem with it or anything, but to Allen's reckoning, if that kid was still in the closet, then the door to that closet was one of those bead draperies.

"If you're talking about both strong and flashy quirks though, you can't neglect to mention Todoroki and Bakugo."

"Tch." Bakugo scoffed, no doubt irritated that his name was listed after Todoroki's.

"Bakugo's always angry and rude, so I can't see him ever being popular though." Asui said, immediately cracking up Allen and infuriating Bakugo.

"HEY!" Bakugo yelled, "Fuck you, you frog bitch! I'll be more popular than any of you ass clowns!"

"See what I mean?" Asui said to Allen pointing at the fuming teen.

"You are the best, Tsu-chan." Allen laughed, "Where have you been all of my life?"

"The Aichi prefecture."

"That was a rhetorical question, Tsu-chan."

"I'm mildly surprised that you know what that means, ribbit."

"That hurts, Tsu-chan. Really."

"Hey, you stupid fucks!" Bakugo growled, "You don't get to just diss me and then ignore me! What the fuck?"

"Chill out Bakugo," Kaminari commented with a smile, "we've only known you for a couple of days and yet it's become abundantly clear that you have the personality of garbage steeped in sewage."

"The fuck you just say to me, you yellow-headed prick? I'll blow you to smithereens!"

Momo wrinkled her nose in disgust, "What a vulgar conversation." She remarked to Uraraka, who was sitting next to her, "Is it asking too much to expect them to act with a minimum of decorum in public?"

Uraraka was giggling, "Maybe not, but it makes me laugh anyways!"

"Settle down already." Aizawa droned, glaring at the rambunctious teens, "We're almost there, so everybody look alive."

Jirou snorted, and muttered, "It's pretty rich hearing that from Aizawa-sensei, considering that he always looks like he's a second away from falling asleep on his feet!"

"I heard that, Kyoka."

"Sorry sensei!"

* * *

(Inside the USJ)

* * *

"Damn!" Allen said to Ashido, looking around the massive structure in awe. "This place is fucking _huge_! How much you think something like this cost?"

Ashido grinned widely and pumped her fist, "I don't know but this is _awesome!_ It's like Universal Studios Japan or something!"

"Or something. Floods, wrecks, landslides, fires," A mechanical sounding voice rang out, "this is a practical training area I created in order to simulate all kinds of disasters and accidents…I call it, The Ultimate Space for Jams!"  
"So it really is the U.S.J., huh?"

Midoriya was practically vibrating with excitement, "It's the Space Hero, 13!" He exclaimed, "He does phenomenal work helping with disaster relief!"

Uraraka turned to him excitedly, "Wow! I've always really liked 13! He's the kind of hero I want to eventually be!"

Midoriya paused when he realized who was speaking to him and went a little red, "U-Uraraka-san…I…"

Allen perked up in interest, watching the exchange. _'Oh,_ ' he thought, ' _this might be really good or really bad_.'

Uraraka matched him in hue, averting her eyes, and interrupting him, "Deku-kun…you don't have to say anything. I'm sorry I freaked out so bad…it's been kinda lonely, watching you and Iida-kun by yourselves. I know you and Allen-kun haven't been speaking either, even though you two are so close…I didn't want that." She turned her head back to make solid eye contact with Midoriya, and clasped her hands together with a smile, "Let's all be friends again, yeah?"

Midoriya went so bright red that Allen was afraid his head would pop, but he nodded robotically and smiled. "Y-yeah, that would be great!"

Allen grinned widely and sidled over to Asui and Momo, "I don't know what you girls said to her, but great work! I owe you two big time!"

Asui smiled faintly at this, while Momo smirked as if to say 'of course'. "Your thanks are appreciated, but unnecessary Martin-san."

"You can thank me if you want, ribbit." Asui chimed in.

"We merely told her the same thing about Midoriya-san that you told us."

"Eh?" Allen said, "What did I say again?"

Momo sighed, "That Midoriya-san was a gentleman and that he would never want his feelings to make her uncomfortable and that he was perfectly happy remaining friends."

"And that he was cute."

Momo flushed, " _I_ did not say that, Tsuyu-san, that was all on you."

"Oh?" Allen grinned, "What's this about him being cute? Does Tsu-chan have her own little crush on Midoriya? That's adorable." Both girls stopped speaking and looked at Allen like he was a complete idiot.

"Not at all." They responded in stereo.

"Just because we think someone is cute doesn't mean we like them, ribbit."

"What do you think we are," Momo asked, " _boys?_ "

"That was kind of sexist, Yaoyorozu-san." Allen responded indignantly, "Guys don't like girls just because they think they're attractive."

"…" Momo gave Allen a deadpan look that rivalled the very best Asui had to offer.

"Okay," Allen admitted, "that's a big part of it."

"…" Momo's expression intensified.

"Fine!" Allen said, "That's most of it, but it's definitely not all of it! Why else would couples stay together even when their looks fade?"

"Grown men are not the same as teenage boys," Yaoyorozu said, "they aren't completely driven by their hormones like other people I could mention." At this she shot a significant glance over towards Mineta, who was ignoring 13's speech about the destructive capabilities of quirks in favor of openly ogling Momo.

"Using Mineta as your example is playing dirty and you know it!" Allen protested. "Just look at me!" Allen wilted under the incredulous stare of the two girls. "Alright, just look at…uh…" Allen looked around desperately and grabbed his birdlike classmate by the shoulders and dragged him over. "Tokoyami! He's not completely driven by hormones, are you Tokoyami?"

Tokoyami looked taken aback at suddenly being dragged into an unrelated conversation and shook himself free of Allen's grip. "I don't know what you are talking about, but whatever it is, leave me out of it."

Asui looked slightly amused at this, which for her meant that she thought it was hilarious. "You just totally picked him at random, didn't you Ren-chan?"

"Uh…no? Look, that's not important." Allen adopted a dead serious expression and lowered his voice, "I like girls a lot, but that guy takes being a horny teenager to the next level. If it weren't for the fact that he wants to be a hero, I would expect to see his face on warning posters at the train stations."

"Even then…" Momo said disdainfully.

"HUDDLE TOGETHER AND DON'T MOVE!" Aizawa _shouted_ at the top of his lungs, making Allen and the girls jump in surprise. "13! Protect the students!"

Allen blinked and walked away from the girls to peer over the stairs curiously, witnessing a large group of people emerging from a wall of dark purple mist. "What's going on?" he asked Kirishima, who was standing next to him, "I haven't really been paying attention. Is this part of the class?"

Kirishima shrugged, "I don't know, some kind of test maybe? Hey sensei!" He asked loudly walking forward, "Is this that pattern from the entrance exam?"

Aizawa didn't turn around to answer, "Don't move!" he barked, putting on his goggles, "those are villains!"

A voice emerged from pair of glowing yellow eyes within the dark mist. "Eraserhead and No. 13," it said, "according to the teacher's curriculum we stole yesterday, All Might was supposed to be here…and yet."

"Yesterday…" Aizawa muttered, "I knew it, so the break-in yesterday was you!"

A pale haired man covered in hands sighed, "Where is he?" he whined petulantly, "We went through all of this trouble, and rustled up so many friends to clear this level…you can't tell me that All Might, that the Symbol of Peace is not here?" His voice got lower and angrier, "Maybe he'll show up if we kill all of these kids."

"V-villains?" Kirishima exclaimed incredulously, "Get out of here! What kind of idiot would think that they could just walk right into the heroes' home base?"

"Sensei?" Momo asked 13, "What about the alarms? They went off yesterday when the press got in."

"Of course we have them here," 13 answered, "but they aren't working for some reason, and I can't get a hold of the main campus either."

"They must have one among their number with a quirk who can do that," Todoroki said calmly, "that means that this wasn't a random attack, this was carefully planned out with an objective of some kind."

"13!" Aizawa barked, "start the evacuation procedures! Kaminari, try contacting the school with your quirk, if they have an electrowave type interfering, then you might be able to get around it!"

"Sensei?" Midoriya asked, "Are you gonna try and fight alone? Even if you suppress their quirks, there's too many of them! Eraserhead's style of battle is to use ambush tactics in one on one encounters!"

"Everything's going to be alright Midoriya," Aizawa reassured him, "a pro always has a few tricks up their sleeves. 13, I'm counting on you." Without another word he leapt down the stairs into the crowd of villains, and immediately began beating villain after villain senseless.

"Holy shit," Allen breathed, watching his teacher's display of combat prowess in awe, "he's amazing."

"Yeah, he is…" Midoriya responded, "he's handling this one-on-group battle like it was his specialty!"

"This is no time for analysis!" Iida cried, "We need to evacuate!"

"I'm afraid I can't allow that."

The group of students running for the door were brought to a halt when the dark mist from earlier materialized in front of them, blocking their way.

"Greetings," the mist said politely, "my name is Kurogiri, and we are the League of Villains. Forgive the presumption, but we came here today in order to engage with All Might, so that we might extinguish him. He was supposed to be here today, was he not? Ah, well, setting that aside," the ground beneath the students was covered in the dark mist and the students began to sink inside of it, " _this_ is my role."

"What the fuck is this?" Allen thrashed about, trying to escape the mist to no avail. The last thing he heard before he vanished into the mire was a chillingly polite declaration from Kurogiri.

"It is regrettable, but to achieve our goals, you will all be scattered, tortured, and slain."

* * *

(USJ—Fire Zone)

* * *

When everything was over, and he told his version of events to the police, Allen would omit the girlishly high-pitched shriek of terror he let out when he suddenly found himself two stories in the air, and plummeted towards the unforgiving ground after being swallowed by the warping villain's black mist. At the moment though, any defensive feelings towards his masculine self-image held far less sway over him than the forces of gravity.

"Ow…" Allen wheezed following his rough landing on the pavement, "that really sucked." Pain aside, he had to count himself fortunate that the worst he suffered was getting the wind knocked out of him. His protective gear had done its job admirably, cushioning him from most of the impact and preventing him from breaking anything.

' _Although,'_ he thought as he regained his ability to breathe, ' _if I had been any higher when I got warped here, it would be a different story._ '

Once he had recovered from his unexpected freefall, Allen took a moment to get a handle on his surroundings—he had been transported to some sort of urban area…which happened to be on fire.

"Well, this is just fantastic." Allen muttered, wiping away the sweat beading across his forehead from the searing heat. "It's not like I'm wearing fifteen kilos of armor in a fucking oven or anything…they couldn't have sent me to the rain dome?"

"Allen!" A vaguely familiar voice cried out. Allen turned to see his classmate Ojiro rapidly approaching by swinging from light post to light post with his powerful tail. "Boy, am I glad to see you. Are you okay?" Ojiro asked, "I saw you fall!"

"Yeah, I'm good." Allen replied, "Just got the wind knocked out of me, how about you?"

"I was lucky and was already on the ground when I got warped here." Ojiro replied. He furrowed his brow. "But we don't have time to talk right now! There are villains here, too! I already had to take out a couple of them on the way here!"

"Shit," Allen swore, "this day just keeps getting better and better. Were they any good?"

Ojiro shook his head. "No, they were all weak so far. Cheap thugs at best."

Allen let out a sigh of relief, then grinned and cracked his knuckles, "Well then, what are we waiting for? Let's go crack some skulls!"

What happened over the next 20 minutes could only be described as a one-sided slaughter. Lacking any sense of organization or teamwork, it was child's play for the two UA students to take out their unskilled opponents.

Allen zipped around, strategically entering and exiting his 2X speed boost to preserve his stamina, effortlessly dodging all clumsy attacks from the villains. With his tactical gloves' hardened knuckles and ceramic plated shin guards amplifying his damage output, he found himself knocking out most of the untrained thugs with a single blow.

In sharp contrast to his crushing loss during the battle trial, Ojiro was also making excellent use of his mobility, swinging from lamppost to lamppost, easily taking out any thugs that Allen missed with powerful blows from his tail.

"Is that all of them?" Ojiro asked, glancing around at the many groaning or unconscious thugs lying on the ground.

"I think so." Allen replied, "I didn't see any others. Let's get out of here and see if we can't reconnect with the rest of the class."

"Geez, talk about embarrassing." A drawling voice rang out from a swirling cloud of smoke. "All these wannabe losers getting beat by a bunch of snot nosed brats—it makes me look bad by being association." A medium sized man in what appeared to be in his twenties stepped into view and let out a sigh. "Looks like I'm going to have to take charge of this situation…I _do_ have a reputation to uphold after all."

Allen exchanged an incredulous look with Ojiro and had to suppress the urge to laugh. The guy looked like such a stereotypical punk that it was hard to take him seriously—he was wearing a gold chain with a charm shaped like an hourglass on it and black cargo pants and an open black hoodie jacket with a black beanie and a red shirt underneath. To top it all off, he was casually smoking a cigarette in the middle of this raging inferno with a bored look on his face and slouching in a manner reminiscent of Bakugo. All in all, it looked like this guy was trying _waaay_ too hard to look cool.

"…Uh, yeah, listen bro." Allen said, drawing the man's attention while Ojiro took the opportunity to slip around behind him, "I know you're trying real hard to be intimidating and all, but it's been a long day, and seeing as the two of us just took out your entire squad of flunkies by ourselves, how about you do us a solid and surrender so we don't have to waste taxpayer money on your hospital bills before you go to prison?"

"Cute." The punk replied, approaching Allen with his hands still in his pockets, "You probably spent your free time coming up with that little one-liner didn't you?" Allen merely glared at the villain in response. "That's what I thought."

Without any warning, the smoke swirling around the villain suddenly thickened, coalescing into several tendrils. Without even turning around to look, the man lashed out behind him with one of these 'legs', smashing it into Ojiro while he was in midair. Unable to dodge, the tailed teenager was sent flying into a nearby car and crashed into the side of the vehicle, denting the door and making him cry out in pain.

"Good effort," the villain remarked, "but did you really think I wouldn't catch your little trick? That's just insulting." One of the tendrils began advancing towards the downed Ojiro, seeking to finish him off.

Allen's eyes widened in recognition of what the villain was about to do and he leapt into action, jumping straight into an 8X boost without a word and sprinting forward, forcing the villain to abandon whatever plans he had for Ojiro in favor of defending against Allen. Dodging each of the tendrils whipping at him in slow motion, Allen took a stutter step, feigning a straight on rush for the villain, who reacted by recalling the tendrils and wrapping his body in them as a shield.

However, rather than going on the attack, Allen changed direction and shot right past him, heading towards Ojiro instead. Disaster that the battle trial was, Allen had taken the lesson regarding hostage situations to heart and decided that discretion was the better part of valor. Once he reached his classmate, Allen heaved Ojiro on to his shoulder and ran for it, desperately pushing himself to get clear of the attack range of the smoke.

"He's faster than I thought…how annoying." The villain scoffed as he watched Allen and Ojiro dart out of sight in a green and white blur. Allowing the smoky legs to disperse into the air, the man closed his eyes and focused his awareness through smoke particles dispersed throughout the dome, feeling every motion, every air current. This was his territory—he was the spider, and they were nothing but flies caught in his web.

After traveling the equivalent of several blocks at top speed, panting from the strain, Allen ducked into an alley that was slightly less on fire than everything else and set Ojiro down to rest—figuring that this was a safe enough distance for now.

' _Shit,'_ Allen thought, ' _I should have dropped the boost level as soon as I was clear. I feel like I just ran a marathon.'_ He shook his head, ' _No, this isn't the time to think about that. I need to focus._ '

"You okay there, bud?" Allen asked Ojiro, fighting to control his breathing while keeping a vigilant eye out for the enemy. "Can you still fight?"

Ojiro winced, his sturdy tail had absorbed most of the damage when he flew into the car, so his back was fine, but the side that had taken the initial hit from the man's attack was in an incredible amount of pain. "I think he broke a few ribs with that." Ojiro wheezed, "I'm having trouble breathing."

"Shit." Allen cursed. "Shit shit shit shit shit!"

Ojiro might still be able to move, but there was no way he was in any condition to fight—if his ribs really were broken and he aggravated them too much, he could pierce a lung.

Allen took a deep breath. "You need to get out of here." He said, "I'll distract him while you make your way to the exit."

Ojiro looked offended before pulling himself to his feet with a hiss of pain, "No way," he grunted, "if…you think I'm leaving you here to fight him by yourself…ugh…than you're as big of a dumbass as Bakugo says you are!"

Allen wasn't having any of it, glaring at him, "This isn't a fucking game, Ojiro! You can barely even talk, you're nothing but a liability right now and you know it! You don't stand even a ghost of a chance against him right now, _I do_!"

"Well, you're half right." A chillingly monotone voice corrected from the shadows, making the two teens pale. The villain walked into the narrow alleyway with his smoky appendages ready for battle, but they were shorter and thicker than they had been before to accommodate for the close quarters, "Because really, neither of you stand a chance."

Allen positioned himself in front of Ojiro and activated Fast Forward. "Go!" he shouted, "Get help!"

Ojiro had a brief thought that under different circumstances, the unnatural high-pitch that Allen's voice took on when under the influence of his quirk would have been comical, but looking at the panicked expression on Allen's face, Ojiro had desire to laugh. With a nod, he turned and ran out of the alley as fast as he could, trying to ignore the excruciating pain he felt with every breath.

"As if I'd let you do that." The villain said, picking up a nearby trashcan with one of his limbs and launching it with incredible force at his fleeing prey, only for his eyes to widen in shock when Allen hit the projectile from the side with a palm strike, altering the trajectory just enough to cause it to fly past Ojiro's head and slam into a wall with a deafening bang.

"Your fight is with me, asshole!" Allen glared at the villain, gritting his teeth to keep from crying out in pain. If it weren't for his protective gear, it felt like that trashcan would have torn his hand off just from the brief contact. Still, he didn't have the luxury of giving up or backing down.

"Hmm," the villain said, looking wholly unconcerned with Ojiro's apparent escape, "this just might be fun after all. What's your name kid?"

"Isn't it polite to give your name first when asking for someone else's?" Allen retorted, looking to buy time.

"You say that as if I'm someone who gives a shit about manners." The villain paused, "But that's fair enough, I suppose. You _should_ know the name of the man who's going to kill you. The name's Ashikuro, but you might know me better by what the press calls me, the Black Widow." Ashikuro gave Allen a bland, insincere smile that sent chills down his spine, "It's a pleasure."

Allen felt his gut twist in on itself with fear at the sound of that name. The Black Widow was a serial arsonist and murderer who had been in the news for the last several weeks—his notoriety was second only to the Hero Killer Stain. His face was still unknown to the public, but he was dangerous and highly elusive. Already he had killed dozens of civilians in the various fires he had set as well as four pro heroes who had discovered him at the scene. The name the media gave him came from the mark that had been found branded on the dead heroes' bodies—a red, inflamed hourglass.

"What is a villain like you doing here?" Allen demanded, backing away from the alley, he had absolutely no desire to fight someone like him in an alleyway, where he had limited space to move. He had to keep him talking. "You don't seem like the type who plays well with others."

Ashikuro frowned slightly he slowly approached Allen, "Don't call me a villain," he warned, "it pisses me off. I'm different than those worthless punks who think that using their quirk to snatch a purse or knock over a liquor store makes them some kind of badass. Now come on," he said, "I introduced myself, it's your turn. It's the 'polite' thing to do, right?"

"Well you see, the thing is, I've never been very well mannered." Allen replied—he was almost at the edge of the alley now; there were less than two meters between him and the relatively safer open spaces of the streets. "It's given me a lot of trouble over the years—I tend to make a bad first impression on people because of it. I see no reason to change that now though, especially not for a villain like you."

Ashikuro's face darkened and his smoky tendrils began thrashing around wildly, striking everything in their range with so much force that they were leaving visible gashes on the pavement and smashing through the concrete walls of the two buildings.

"I thought I told you," he said, exuding a palpable aura of malice, "not to call me a villain."

Allen swallowed hard at Ashikuro's display of rage. It was the first overt display of emotion that he'd seen from the man and damn if it wasn't intimidating. Allen's body armor was able to absorb a great deal of kinetic energy, but the kind of blunt force that those tendrils were producing would still crush him.

' _I have to avoid those attacks at all costs._ ' Allen thought, ' _Even with my armor, it might not kill me, but getting by one of those things would put me in a world of hurt_.'

"If it bothers you so much, then tell me," Allen asked—he had finally made it out of the alley, and he breathed a little sigh of relief, "if you aren't a villain, then what are you, and why are you doing this? What reason could you _possibly_ have for any of this?"

Ashikuro took his hands out of his pockets, revealing that he was wearing heat resistant gloves and spread his arms wide, "I don't like to be pinned in by labels…and I don't need something like a _reason_ to do the things I do…I kill people and destroy things because I feel like it, and because I _can_. When Shigaraki Tomura came to me and asked me to help him destroy the symbol of peace, I leapt at the opportunity." Ashikuro grinned, showing all of his teeth, "A world without rules sounds like so much _fun_ , don't you think?"

Without waiting for a response, Ashikuro grabbed several chunks of asphalt and concrete that had been created during his temper tantrum and began hurling them at Allen with speed equivalent to any pro pitcher's best fast ball. Barely able to react in time, Allen dove out of the way of the entrance of the alleyway when he realized what was happening.

' _He wasn't destroying things because he was angry,_ ' Allen realized, ' _he was making ammo for himself. He probably knows that I can only fight in close quarters.'_ Allen grit his teeth and activated his 4X boost, fleeing the scene as fast as he could, ' _As much as I hate to admit it, it's the worst matchup… I can't win this._ '

Sure, Allen may have gotten past those tendrils of his once, but that was when Ashikuro didn't know what Allen's quirk was and he caught him off guard. Blinding speed was great, but it couldn't get through that maelstrom of multiple thrashing tendrils Ashikuro displayed earlier. _'Running away is my only option, I gotta get to the exit and hope that Ojiro got out as well.'_

Unfortunately for Allen, finding the exit was easier said than done, and after a few minutes of running frantically around the dome, Allen nearly cried with relief when he finally found a sign pointing him in the right direction.

' _For an area that's constantly on fire, there sure was a weird lack of exit signs, you'd think that they would be posted everywhere in a place like this…whatever, I'm sure they had their reasons when they built this place.'_

He was exhausted, the smoke and heat made it difficult to breathe, his body armor felt stifling and heavy, and his panicked use of his quirk when he had carried Ojiro had badly drained him. There were a couple of trucks stacked up in an improvised barricade, blocking the path to the exit.

' _They must have set this up to delay anyone trying to escape,'_ he thought as he deactivated his quirk and scrambled to climb over the trucks, ' _but something like this wouldn't have stopped Ojiro, and it won't stop me either!_ '

Any sense of relief he might have felt quickly turned to ash when he dropped to the ground on the other side of the barrier. "No…" he whispered, his heart felt like it was being crushed by dread, "this isn't possible! How could he have beaten me here and done all of this? He isn't that fast!"

Ashikuro was there, waiting for him with a smug look on his face. Blocking the door and every path out of the area were several cars stacked on top of each other. He had torn large chunks of asphalt out of the ground, littering the entire area with pitfalls to impede Allen's mobility and creating a pile of ammunition for him to use at the same time. At his feet there was a pile of broken exit signs.

"Did you think I was just twiddling my thumbs while you and that monkey were fighting the small fry?" Ashikuro asked, "I set this up before you had any idea that I was here. I had no intention of letting anybody leave here alive." He frowned at this, "I don't know how monkey boy managed to get out of here, but I assure you that it won't be the case for you."

Allen activated his 8X boost and rushed Ashikuro, carefully avoiding the potholes and hoping to catch him off guard. It very nearly worked, but Ashikuro was able to shroud himself in a cloak of smoke and Allen's flurry of fists and knees merely sank into the smoke and rebounded with no effect.

"Damnit!" Allen cursed, leaping back and running to the middle of the circular trap before dropping down to 2X speed.

' _This guy's reflexes are as good as Bakugo's_!' He had lost his chance to catch him Ashikuro off guard, and now his only hope was to evade him for however much time it took for help to arrive.

"You sure are a quick one." Ashikuro complimented Allen, "For you to clear 20 meters of hazards in under a second is fantastic. But I was the ace of my baseball team in high school, so unless you can run faster than 140kph, you're out of luck." He picked up a chunk of asphalt and fired it high at Allen's head making him dodge desperately. "Wanna guess what my position was?"

For nearly five minutes, Allen fought valiantly against his exhaustion, fear, and desperation, dodging each of the projectiles launched at him with the minimum amount of movement to conserve energy, but in the end the cards were simply too stacked against him. After being clipped in the shoulder by one of the flying chunks of rock; Allen stumbled into a pothole and twisted his ankle, falling over. Ashikuro wasted no time in wrapping his smoky limbs around Allen pinning him in place. In a panic, Allen desperately tried to get away from the psychopath, but he the smoke circling his body only got tighter and tighter the harder he struggled, squeezing Allen so hard that he could feel his ribs groaning under the pressure.

"You know, I never did learn your name," Ashikuro said, lifting Allen up into the air and reaching into his pocket to pull out his wallet, to look at his ID, "Allen Martin, huh? I should have known you were an American, what with that horrible accent you've got going on, but it's hard to tell what anyone is these days thanks to quirks. Oh, what's this?"

Ashikuro voice displayed a disturbing level of interest as he pulled a picture out of the wallet and held it up for Allen to see. Allen felt his insides turn to ice; it was a photo of him and his mother when they had gone to Disneyland Tokyo for his tenth birthday. They were both wearing mouse ear hats and holding up a peace sign with huge smiles on their faces.

"Is this your mother?" He asked, "I'm jealous, you must be close if you carry a picture of her around." He tilted his head, examining Allen closely. "You know, besides the hair, you don't look much like her. I've always had a thing for blondes, you know, and she's quite the beauty, I might go and give her my condolences when I've finished up here."

Allen snapped, forgetting his fear for a moment in his anger. "Don't even think about it!" He snarled, "You'll die before you touch her!"

"Is that right?" Ashikuro asked, seemingly amused by Allen's threat, "And who exactly is going to stop me? You?"

Allen clamped his mouth shut, glaring at Ashikuro defiantly before a muffled boom sounded in the distance making the entire building shake violently.

"Uh-oh. Sounds like the cavalry has arrived," Ashikuro remarked, "I had better finish this quickly then. Well Allen-kun," Ashikuro said, clapping his hands theatrically, "this _was_ fun, but I'm afraid that our time together has unfortunately come to an end."

' _Don't beg._ ' Allen repeated to himself like a mantra—he had never been so scared in his life, but he was stubborn as hell and he would be damned if he was going to give this psycho the satisfaction of hearing him plead for his life.

"There's no need to fret though, I've prepared a parting gift just for you." Ashikuro said, "A little memento, to remind us of our time together." He was eerily serene as he walked over to a nearby fire and reached into it, pulling out a small glowing object. "I must admit, this is strange for me." Ashikuro said, walking back over to Allen and holding up his red-hot hourglass necklace.

Allen's eyes widened in fear and he clenched his jaw as hard as he could, ' _Don't beg, don't beg, don't beg, don't beg don't beg!'_

"It's the first time I've done this with a fire that I didn't set myself—it seems kind of perverse, in a weird way." Ashikuro shrugged. "Oh well, I think you'll forgive me. It's the thought that counts after all."

Ashikuro seized Allen's head, holding it still as he pressed the red-hot charm onto his right cheek, by the outer corner of his eye. Allen let out a gut-wrenching scream as the nerve endings were scorched away in a matter of seconds; it hurt less than he had expected, but he would never forget the sound or the smell of his flesh cooking. Once he had finished, Ashikuro removed the brand and stroked his chin, inspecting the angry red, blistered mark like an artist inspecting his work.

"Hmm," Ashikuro mused, "I like it, but something's missing...oh!" He snapped his fingers, "I know! It's uneven! Here, let me fix that for you!" He grabbed Allen's head again and repeated the process, placing the brand in the same spot, but on his left cheek. "There's no need to thank me, really, it's the least I can do. I don't want you looking anything less than your best during your funeral."

Throughout the entire process, Ashikuro was laughing at Allen's suffering, which made it extremely satisfying when his laughter was put to an abrupt end by a flying car smashing into him when the exit doors suddenly exploded open with a monstrous amount of force.

"Not laughing now, _are you,_ asshole?" Allen muttered as he struggled to pull himself to his feet, bonds undone by the distance between him and Ashikuro.

"Martin-san!" Allen blinked at the shockingly feminine voice that came out of the western-style dragon staring down at him. It was Ryukyu, the hero ranked number nine in Japan. Apparently, she had been the one to smash the door open. "Mashirao-san told us that you were fighting a strong villain in here. Are you alright?"

"…I'll live," Allen said, "can't help but wish that you had gotten here a little bit sooner though," Ryukyu let out a gasp as Allen lifted his head to meet her eyes and she saw the inflamed marks on his face, "I really wasn't in the market for body art today."

"Your face." She muttered angrily, she flexed her powerful claws, leaving deep gouges in the ground, and slapped her tail into one of the nearby cars, turning it into a pancake. "To a child…he dared to do this _to a child_." Ryukyu glared at the barricade where Ashikuro had been pinned between the cars, "Please use this opportunity to escape, Martin-san…I give you my word that he won't get away with this."

"He's not going anywhere, you stupid _bitch_." Ashikuro's voice rang out as he sent the car that had hit him flying right at Ryukyu's head, not even batting an eye when she effortlessly swatted the vehicle out of the way. He was fuming; he didn't appreciate his fun being interrupted. His clothes were filthy and torn and his hat was gone. Blood was running freely down his face from a gash on his head and the smoky limbs surrounding him were whipping around violently, leaving lash marks on everything they touched. "I almost didn't protect myself in time…you trying to kill me?"

"Be careful, Ryukyu!" Allen warned, "Those things are really strong!"

"Don't worry, Martin-san. We have this well in hand."

"What do you mean _we_ , dragon bitch?" Ashikuro snapped, "Your scaly ass is the only thing I'm sensing in the area besides the brat."

"Principal Nezu, if you would." Ryukyu said calmly.

"Right!" An adorable voice rang out over the loudspeaker, "Typhoon zone coming right up!" With those words the environmental controls were activated, and entire dome was drenched in a torrential downpour of artificial wind and rain, putting out the fires and blowing the smoke away from Ashikuro.

"What?" Ashikuro exclaimed in a panic, "No! No no no no! That's not fair! You can't do that!"

Ryukyu pounced and pinned the suddenly helpless young man underneath a massive claw. "You had better come quietly," she growled, shooting out two jets of flame from her nostrils and singeing Ashikuro's hair, "if you know what's good for you."

Ashikuro glared at Allen, who was watching silently as he struggled to free himself from underneath the dragon's claw. "Don't think this is over, Allen!" He swore, "I will finish what I started! There is no escape. Do you hear me? Nobody gets away from me! I will find you! I'll kill you! I'll kill everyone you love! I'm going to take my time with your pretty little mother though! We're going to have a lot of fun before I crush the life out of her!"

Allen's eyes went hard and cold when Ashikuro threw out his last threat. He cracked his knuckles and limped over to the pinned villain. "Ryukyu-san," he said with a tight voice, "I don't think he's going to come quietly, do you?"

Ryukyu stared at Allen, considering the options for a moment, and then nodded, "No Martin-san, I don't believe he is…I trust you know where the line is?" Allen nodded, never taking his eyes off of the ranting Ashikuro. "Good, don't cross it."

"Yes ma'am!" Allen said with a grin that wouldn't have looked out of place on Bakugo, and without any hesitation, he punched the lunatic in the face, knocking out several teeth. Then he soccer kicked him in the chin, breaking Ashikuro's jaw and knocking him out cold. Figuring that letting somebody become a vegetable due to a traumatic brain injury would count as crossing the line, Allen pulled out an ammonia packet from one of his uniform's pockets, and woke him up.

"Don't you ever threaten my family, you piece of shit. If I ever see your sorry face again, I don't care what happens to me, I'll fucking kill you. With my _hands_."

Message delivered, the adrenaline and rage that had been sustaining him gave out and Allen collapsed. "Are you okay?" Ryukyu asked, concerned.

"I'm fine now," Allen said, laying flat on his back and feeling soothed by the cool water pouring down on him, "thanks for…you know, saving my ass. And before I forget, would you mind signing my copy of your swimsuit calendar later? I'm a fan."

Ryukyu snorted in amusement at Allen's request. "I suppose you've earned it."

"Awesome." He said, "Now can somebody _please_ take me to Recovery Girl, my everything hurts."


	9. The Aftermath

Ch. 9: The Aftermath

"Is it inappropriate to say that I wish you were the one carrying me instead?" Allen asked Ryukyu as she walked beside the mechanical stretcher carrying him up the stairs to the ambulances waiting outside.

The Dragon Heroine chuckled; Allen had been none-too-subtly hitting on her non-stop since it had been clear that he was safe. She decided to allow this, figuring that as long as he was trying to flirt with her, he wouldn't be going catatonic or having a panic attack on her. Everybody dealt with stressful situations in their own way, and she had seen worse ways to handle a near death experience. Besides, he hadn't been crude or offensive; she mostly just found it funny. "I doubt you'd enjoy it very much, Martin-san," she replied with an indulgent smile, "I'm just a normal woman in this form, I'd have to transform in order to carry you, and I've been told that my dragon scales are slightly less comfortable to the touch than shark skin."

"Please," Allen replied with a saucy grin, ignoring the pain from his fresh brands, "I don't know what I find more ridiculous, the fact that you think I wouldn't like riding a freaking _dragon_ , or that you think you are anything close to a normal woman in that form." He paused, "Have you even _looked_ in a mirror recently? Because *whistle*."

Ryukyu laughed out loud. "You certainly are a bold one," she commented, "there aren't very many men—let alone teenage boys—who have the guts to hit on a woman who can eat them if they made her mad enough."

Allen waved her off, "Not even. The only reason you're taking this so well is that we both know that this," Allen gestured, pointing back and forth between the two of them, "wouldn't happen in a million years." He sighed and covered his face with the back of his hand dramatically, "It just isn't meant to be."

Ryukyu liked this kid. He was going to make it far in this business. "Really?" She said with an exaggerated pout, "And here I was, about to give in to your irresistible charm…but if you don't think it will work out, I guess I'll have settle for spending the long cold nights all by myself." The robots bearing the stretcher had made it to the door and were carrying him outside of the gigantic dome and to the ambulances stationed outside. Ryukyu blew him a kiss, "Good bye, Martin-kun!" she crooned, "My heart will remember you fondly!"

"Wait, _what?_ " Allen said, beginning to thrash against the straps holding him in place, "OI! Robots! Go back! I didn't hear what she said! DAMN IIIIIIT!"

Ryukyu laughed long and hard as she watched the student get loaded onto the ambulance. "Ahh, I needed that," she said with a smile, before her face darkened, "there won't be any cause for laughter any time soon."

(Yuuei—Recovery Girl's Office)

"I'm sorry, _what?_ " Allen said; voice elevated but not quite at the level of shouting. It would not do to shout at the person who was responsible for his wellbeing.

"I'm afraid it's just as I've said," Recovery Girl replied, "I've healed your wounds, but I'm afraid that the marks on your face are here to stay."

"Bullshit!" Allen growled, "I've seen you heal shattered limbs in _seconds_ , these are just two little burns! How can you not heal them?"

"All my quirk does is supercharge the healing rate," Recovery Girl explained patiently, "it doesn't work miracles and it can't prevent scarring that would have occurred anyways if it had healed naturally."

Allen felt woozy, he had to sit down; he had a hollow look in his eyes as he perched on the hospital bed. "So you're telling me that _for the rest of my life_ , I'm going to have to remember what that bastard did to me every time I look in the God damned mirror!" He slammed his fist down on the bedside table, making the objects on top of it jump. "FUCK!" He stood up and flipped the bed over; he needed to break something, anything to release the helpless rage he felt boiling inside of him. "GOD FUCKING DAMN IT!"Recovery Girl sat there quietly as Allen threw his little tantrum. It wasn't the first time she had seen this kind of reaction to bad news, and she suspected that it wouldn't be the last, either. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, he calmed down and sat down on the floor as his anger born strength fled him.

"Something like this is a bitter pill to swallow, I know." She said, "And scars like these can hurt in ways far beyond the physical." She pulled out a notepad from her doctor's coat and wrote down something on it. "I can't help with that, but there _are_ people who can, which is why I'm assigning you weekly meetings with your faculty advisor to talk things out until further notice." Allen opened his mouth to protest this but Recovery Girl interrupted him, "This is _not optional_ , Martin-san. Not if you wish to remain at this school and not if you still wish to become a hero. Are we _clear_?" Allen looked angry but nodded. "You aren't leaving this room until I hear you say it, Martin-san."

"…I understand. I'll go and see the advisor."

Recovery Girl smiled, "Good, now get out of here. I have to get this mess cleaned up and I have other patients to attend to."

The next few days passed for Allen in a blur, minutes and hours blending together as he struggled to come to terms with what had happened to him. The rush of euphoria from surviving his close encounter with death had faded. His anger was still there, but he buried it deep within him, leaving him feeling emotionally numb. That made it easier to ignore the flood of texts and calls from his classmates offering to talk. Standing out among them were Asui and Midoriya, who had been particularly persistent. In a particularly petty corner of Allen's mind, he felt darkly amused whenever he looked at the long string of unanswered messages from Midoriya, pleading for a response. " _Doesn't feel so good when you're the one on that side of it does it?_ " Allen thought bitterly.

It wasn't pettiness that kept him from answering though. While Allen had never been shy about venting to his friends, this was different in his mind. This wasn't some childish spat with Bakugo or teenage drama that didn't really matter in the long run. He had been tortured. He had very nearly been killed. He couldn't dump this on them, so he kept it to himself.

Some things still got through to him though, he couldn't hide his wince at the tears that started flowing out of his mother's eyes when he first arrived home with the bright red scars on his face drawing attention like a beacon. His father was considerably more stoic, merely patting Allen on the shoulder and telling him that he would be there for him if Allen needed to talk.

The inevitable discussion about whether to allow Allen to return to school at all occurred. Allen recalled his mother tearfully demanding that Allen be pulled out; that he leave Yuuei and go to school on the base. Allen told her that he wanted to return. The damage had been done, he said. He was already marked for life; so giving up now would only be letting the man who did this to him win in the end. He did not feel the words coming out of his mouth resonate in his heart, not like they usually did when he talked about his dream. He felt nothing at all, but the words sounded good to Allen, they sounded like something that he should say. They worked. His father promised Allen that he would not let him be pulled out of the school unless it was his choice to do so. His father spent the next few nights on the couch because of this, and he thanked his father for his support. He still felt muted.

Finally, when Monday had rolled around once again, Allen found himself staring out the window of the train as he made his first trip back to Yuuei since it had all happened. The whispers and curious glances of the passengers as they stared at the tall American boy with the gaudy brands on his face should have, _would have_ infuriated him before. Now, he could barely bring himself to care.

He was running late. He had spent too much time in front of the mirror that morning and missed his first train. " _Oh, well,"_ Allen thought as the panic that the situation would usually elicit was swallowed by his melancholy, " _nothing I can do about it now, I guess."_

"Allen!"

Allen blinked and looked over in the direction of the voice calling his name. "Midoriya." Allen said, "What are you doing here? Class started ten minutes ago."

Midoriya's eyes widened at the sight of the brands on Allen, but did not mention them. "Do you seriously think that I would go to class without you after you haven't been answering my messages?" He asked, "You're my best friend and I'm worried about you." He looked down, his eyes brimmed with tears of shame, "I know I have no room to criticize you for not communicating…I-I'm sorry about last week. I-I shouldn't have abandoned you over a mistake. I-it wasn't your fault and I—"

"It doesn't matter," Allen interrupted, walking past him, "I'm over it already."

Midoriya followed after him, "R-really? It was a crappy thing to do, though and…"

Allen pointed to his face, "Kind of seems trivial now, doesn't it?" he replied.

Midoriya laughed awkwardly, but looked ill at the sight of the marks. "Y-yeah, I guess so. Are you okay?" He began stammering, "I-I mean, I know t-that the s-scars are going to stay and that's terrible, but…"

"I'm fine." Allen replied, sounding irritated.

"D-do you want to talk about i—"

" _No_. I said I'm _fine._ "

Midoriya was taken aback by the harsh tone of Allen's short, vehement answer. "Uh…O-okay, Allen. Just…I'm here for you if you need me…you know that right?"

"Thanks." Allen said flatly.

Allen closed his eyes and took a deep breath when he heard the collective gasp of the class as he walked into homeroom. " _Ignore it, Allen,_ " he told himself. " _It doesn't matter._ " He opened his eyes. Aizawa was there, looking like some kind of mummy with the number of bandages on his face.

"Martin-san, Midoriya-san." Aizawa said, "Any reason why you're both nearly thirty minutes late?"

"S-sorry sensei," Midoriya apologized, quickly making his way over to his desk, "I was…uh…" he glanced at Allen. " _I was worried about Allen,_ " went unsaid, but was clearly understood by everyone in the class.

Aizawa sighed, "I'll overlook it this time because it was your first offense. Don't make a habit of it. What about you Martin-san? Care to share why you thought that my class's starting time was optional?"

"Missed my train." Allen replied, doing an eerily accurate impression of Aizawa's signature monotone. "…Sorry." He didn't sound very sorry, judging from the way he gave his apology as an afterthought. He took his seat. "I'm surprised to see you here sensei." He said dully, "You must be tougher than you look if getting your skull cracked like an egg didn't even put you down for a week." The whispers that had started following Allen's late arrival suddenly ceased when the class went dead silent at this remark.

"Don't bother leaving after classes today Martin-san." Aizawa said placidly, "You have detention."

Allen nodded and pulled out his notebook. The class was almost halfway over already, but he might as well salvage what he could. Maybe Yaoyorozu would let him copy her notes later—as stiffly formal with Allen as she had been during his attempts at casual interaction; she had always been more than willing to assist him with any academic concerns.

Homeroom came and went, followed by English with Present Mic—this subject had always been one of Allen's academic saving graces, he could basically sleepwalk through any assignments thanks to his fluency in the language—and Japanese with the blocky Cementoss. When the lunch bell rang, Allen felt a muted sense of dread creep over him. No matter how much he tried to convince himself that it didn't matter, he was not looking forward to the stares or the inevitable flood of questions. " _I should have just worn bandages or a mask."_ Allen thought. He had barely taken two steps into the cafeteria before his classmates swarmed him with questions and platitudes.

"You okay, Allen-kun?"

"Dude, your face! I heard how you faced down that crazy villain to save Ojiro. You're manly as hell!"

"I'm sorry for what you had to go through, Martin-san. I cannot imagine."

"Allen-kun! Tell us about that villain!"

"Sorry about...you know. Shit's rough man."

"Are you alright?"

"You okay, man?"

"You okay?"

"That sounded awful, are you doing alright?"

"How are you holding up?"

"You okay?"

Allen grit his teeth. He was getting sick of that question and his indifferent mask was beginning to crack under the strain—he didn't want or need their pity. "I'm _fine_." He replied for what felt like the billionth freaking time. "They're just scars. No, I don't want to talk about it. Can I please just eat my lunch in peace?" Eventually, with the help of Iida and Ojiro, Midoriya managed to chase away the crowd of hangers on who wanted to interrogate him over the whole affair.

Asui had claimed a spot next to him at the table. To his great and everlasting appreciation, she didn't ask him any questions when she saw how riled up Allen was getting from the attention, merely lending him silent support with her presence. " _I'm here if you need it_." Went unsaid, but came out through her actions loud and clear.

There was no Foundational Heroics class that day. Math was as boring and incomprehensible to Allen as always. Art History with the R-18+ Heroine, Midnight, proved interesting when she called him to the front of the class as pretext to discreetly press a small round object into his hand with a note attached. Curious, Allen opened the object once he had returned to his desk to find a skin colored goop inside.

Looking at the note, it read: " _Most male heroes don't go for this kind of thing, but for women in this profession, it's a Godsend. This was developed to help cover up any unsightly scars or blemishes that we're bound to pick up in this line of work. It's a bit expensive, but it's easy to apply and it's water and sweat proof. You can remove it with an alcohol swab. It will never erase what happened, but at the very least, you'll be able to keep it private. Keep fighting, and Plus Ultra. Midnight XOXO"_

Allen felt a wave of gratitude wash over him as he finished the note and when he looked up at Midnight, she gave him a sly wink. She was right; being able to cover up his scars didn't erase what had happened to him or how he felt whenever he saw them reflected in the mirror, but at least he didn't have to display it to the world for everyone to see.

Once the final bell signaling the end of the day rang, everybody shuffled out of the classroom one by one except for Allen, Midoriya, Asui, and somewhat surprisingly, Uraraka, Iida and Ojiro. Aizawa stared at the teens surrounding Allen like a protective detail. "The rest of you, get out." He ordered, "This is going to be a private talk between the two of us." Midoriya and Ojiro stepped forward to protest, but he cut them off with his cold voice. "This is _not_ up for debate. I appreciate what you're trying to do, but I'm not going to eat him. _Get. Out."_

Iida and Uraraka left immediately, but promised that they would be waiting outside. Ojiro hesitated, but ultimately crumbled under the pressure. Midoriya was practically shaking under the weight of Aizawa' glare, but he stared at Aizawa defiantly. Asui's face was as unreadable as ever.

"Go." Allen said, surprising them. "You heard him. I can take care of myself."

"A-are you sure, Allen?"

"Yes. Go. Don't bother waiting up, I'm going to be here for a while." Midoriya turned to walk out of the room with sloped shoulders, sparing one last backward glance before walking out the door. Asui lingered for a moment, gently patted Allen's shoulder with an oversized hand and left the room.

Allen stared impassively at Aizawa as he and the bandaged pro engaged in a silent battle of wills to see who would speak first. The silence dragged on and on until it was finally Aizawa who broke the ice between them. "It's hard isn't it?" He asked.

"What's hard?" Allen asked.

"Being in a position like that." Aizawa said, "Helpless. Alone."

"I've already been ordered to talk to my faculty advisor if I want to keep going here," Allen tensely replied, "I'm not under any obligation to talk with you though, sensei. Just let me serve my detention and go home."

"This isn't actually detention." Aizawa corrected, "That was a logical ruse to give an explanation for you staying here after school. _I'm_ your faculty advisor."

Allen's eyebrow began twitching, " _What?_ "

"You didn't read the orientation packet that explained this did you?" The injured pro asked rhetorically, "No matter. You are right about one thing though." Aizawa said, "You aren't obligated to say anything if you don't want to. If you just want to sit there silently for an hour once every week until you graduate, you can. I'm perfectly fine with that. I might be able to force you to be here, but I can't force you to open up." There was a heavy silence that lasted for several seconds. "You should though."

"And why would I do that?" Allen asked, "I have no desire to talk about it with _anyone_."

"I watched the tape of your interview with the police." Aizawa replied, he pointed to his bandages and then to Allen's brands. "We both had a pretty rough go of it."

"Oh, we had a pretty rough go of it, did we?" Allen replied sarcastically, anger starting to bleed through his schooled mask of indifference. "You think that you can forge some kind of connection with me because you got pounded by a villain that was out of your league, too? Because there was nothing that you could do as soon as you had to face off against a superior foe? Because your face is gonna be fucked up for the rest of your god damn life because you were too fucking weak?"

Aizawa sat there calmly as Allen ranted. "That about sums it up."

"Yeah, well _fuck you_!" Allen shouted, slamming his clenched fists into the desk, "You might think you understand what I'm going through, but you fucking don't! You don't understand a Goddamn thing!"

"Really?" Aizawa said flatly, "Is that so?"

" _Is that so_?" Allen mocked. All of the emotion he had bottled up over the last several days was pouring out at once. He knew that Aizawa was intentionally provoking him into talking but he couldn't stop now even if he wanted to. He stood up and started pacing. "Yeah it's _fucking so_ , you lying prick! Don't come to me and act like we have anything in common just because we got injured in vaguely similar ways! I heard all about what happened to you! The only reason you were taken down was because you were overwhelmed by some freak of nature designed to _kill_ _All Might_! _I_ lost because I played right into that fucking psycho's hands like a chump!"

Tears of frustration welled up in Allen's eyes and he turned his back to Aizawa, unwilling to let the man see him cry. Allen struggled to control his voice from cracking up, "I've been going over that fight over and over again on repeat, and do you know what I've realized?" Allen clenched his fists tightly; "I've learned _nothing_ from my mistakes! If I had thought ahead even a little bit, I would have realized that the barricade blocking the exit was a trap…hell, if I had even had the foresight to just _check the other side of the barrier_ _before jumping over_ , I could have kept away from him until help arrived…but I didn't. I just saw a sign pointing to the exit and ignored the danger because I wanted to escape right then and there." Allen sat down and hung his head; "My parents and teachers have been telling me that I'm too impatient, impulsive and reckless for my entire life, but I never really listened because everything always turned out alright in the end."

Aizawa raised an eyebrow in interest at this train of thought, " _Perhaps something good will come out of this experience after all."_

Allen continued, "There have been consequences, sure, but nothing that really mattered. Punishments were temporary, bruises would always fade, and property damage could be repaired or replaced. It always went away." Allen gestured to his face, "I might be able to cover these up, but they will _never_ go away. I can _feel_ them, constantly. They're just a permanent reminder of how fucking stupid I am. Of how badly I fucked up and how badly it could have gone," Allen choked, "of how badly it _should_ have gone. If he didn't take the time to brand me, he could have killed me before Ryukyu ever arrived. By all rights, I shouldn't have survived that. I just got lucky."

"But you did survive," Aizawa countered, "and so did I. Sometimes we have to endure horrible things, but we learn whatever lessons we can from them and keep moving forward, because that's what heroes do."

Allen laughed bitterly, "You say that like it's so easy."

"It's not easy." Aizawa said, "Not in the least. But it _is_ that simple. We heroes all have our scars, but it's how we handle them that determines our worth. It's unfortunate that you had to go through this crucible so early, but it was bound to happen eventually. With superstars like All Might or Endeavor in the public eye, it's all too easy to be blinded by the glitz and glamour and forget that at its core, heroics are dangerous and unpredictable."

"So that's it then?" Allen asked, "That's the wisdom you can pass down to me after years of being a pro? 'Every hero gets hurt, so get over it'."

"Tell me Martin-san," Aizawa said, "why do you want to be a hero?"

"What does that have to do with anything?" Allen asked.

"Answer the question first and I'll explain."

Allen looked up at the ceiling. "I was saved by All Might as a kid…my family had just been transferred to Japan, and I was touring Tokyo with my mom when I was kidnapped and held hostage by a villain." Allen could still recall the moment like it was yesterday, it was such a pivotal moment in his life that it was etched into his memory. "It was like a god had descended to earth when he showed up. He moved so fast that it was over before I could even blink. Everybody was cheering. He was so cool. I never forgot how it felt to be saved like that. All I could think about was how cool it would be if I could do the same thing." He returned his eyes back to Aizawa's; "Now I'll ask again, what does that have to do with anything?" Allen sneered, "You gonna ask me about my relationship with my mother next? Have me start a dream journal?"

Aizawa ignored the jabs. "I've found that at moments like these, one's underlying motivation can be what makes the difference between rising up stronger than before, or washing out. Your friend Midoriya is a good example of this…did you know that he also came within a hair's breadth of dying?"

"Midoriya almost died?" Allen repeated, his face pale, "I knew he was involved in the fight with the brain guy and the dude with the hands but I didn't hear anything about him nearly _dying_."

Aizawa nodded, "The…'dude with the hands', as you put it, had a quirk that disintegrated anything that he touched." He looked down at his heavily bandaged arm. "He was able to destroy my elbow with it in literally the blink of an eye. He was also quick enough on his to surprise and get his hands on the faces of both Midoriya Izuku and Asui Tsuyu. If I hadn't been able to erase his quirk at that moment, the two of them would most certainly be dead right now."

Allen's stomach dropped at this news. While he had been moping, his two closest friends nearly had their _heads melted_ , and he didn't know. They had gone through that, yet they had been trying so hard to support _him_. "Both Midoriya…and Tsu-chan? They both…almost _died_?" He had been so wrapped up in his own misery he never even stopped to consider how they had been feeling. That just _maybe,_ in reaching out to get him to confide in them, they were hoping that they could confide in him too. " _I'm the worst._ " He thought.

"Stop it." Aizawa said, guessing the direction of Allen's thoughts, "I didn't tell you this to make you feel guilty. I have a point in bringing this up. It is easy to see that Midoriya is driven to become a hero because he possesses a selfless, sometimes even self-destructive need to protect people. He doesn't regret his wounds or the actions that put him into harms way because he did so while seeking to protect his classmates and his teachers, just like I don't regret the injuries that I received because I was protecting my students. I would rather have 'my skull cracked like an egg' as you so eloquently put it, a thousand times over than to have watched those two turn to dust, knowing that I could have done something about it."

"I've already told you that my situation was completely different than yours." Allen insisted, "You had already been caught. I got caught because I made a mistake."

"Yes, of course you made a mistake. You are young and inexperienced. Under normal circumstances, you would have had _years_ of training before you would be allowed to even _think_ about taking on a villain of that caliber alone. As it was, you'd only had _one_ day of foundational training, and the fact that you were able to utilize the lessons that you learned is the only reason that you and Mashirao are alive."

Allen froze, "What do you mean?" he asked, "I feel like I was flying by the seat of my pants the entire time. I barely got out."

"I read Mashirao's account. When he had been injured, you rescued him rather than going on the attack, preventing him from being held hostage or killed. You insisted that he leave to go get help, staying behind to buy him enough time to find an alternate exit and tell the pros about your situation. If you had made any of those decisions differently, neither of you would be alive today."

Allen didn't say anything in response, but looked pensive. Aizawa sighed, "Just think about it. I'll let you go early today, but you aren't getting out of the full hour next week. If you need to talk sooner than that, I'll be here."

 **AN: Holy traumatic angst Batman! Yeah, the brands are here to stay. The nature of Recovery Girl's quirk means that there isn't any other way. It kind of bugged me that the students were able to just sort of get over being invaded by villains in a couple of days, but they are made of sterner stuff than I am. This will not be the end of Allen's struggles with this, expect the consequences of what he went through to manifest in various ways. Real life isn't like Naruto; you don't get over traumatic experiences with one good conversation. It takes time and effort. Also, prepare yourself for some incoming fluff to balance out the seriousness of these last two chapters. As always, please leave a review to let me know what you think! Till next time.**


	10. The Games We Play

Ch. 10 The Games We Play

Three weeks had passed since the USJ incident. Thankfully for Allen, the intense preparation for the upcoming UA Sports Festival was a pretty effective distraction from what had happened. The sessions with Aizawa helped—the man was very good at reframing Allen's thoughts in a way that made things seem less terrible—but sometimes, in the quiet moments when he was alone, it felt like every bit of progress would come unraveled, slipping him back into the same sense of numb melancholy that he had felt before. Allen avoided those quiet moments like the plague, jamming every possible second full of activity so that he didn't have a chance to think.

He spent a lot of time with friends, old and new. Ojiro, whom Allen had initially branded as utterly forgettable became a good friend. Besides Midoriya, the tailed-teen was first person from the class to get invited over to Allen's house when he expressed interest in having a spar. This evolved into a two to three time a week occurrence, with Midoriya often joining them.

Allen would never say it out loud, but he was privately quite thankful that he had Ojiro to spar with—Midoriya was a quick and wily opponent, he learned fast and he was able to pull off clever gambits that could even trip up more experienced, technical fighters. However, the sheer gap of experience between them, only made worse by his comparative lack of combat practice during the ten months of hell in preparation for the entrance exam meant that in a spar without quirks, Midoriya was far below Allen's level.

On the other hand, Ojiro had been doing martial arts even longer than Allen had, practically since he could walk, and Allen relished the challenge. Even without using his tail, he was really good, but _with_ it—forget about it. As plain as it seemed compared to Todoroki or Bakugo's quirks, Ojiro's tail was _devastating_ at close range. The first time he actually used it in a spar, it was brief and very one sided. Aside from the difficulty of adjusting years of ingrained reactions and tactics to an opponent who essentially had an extra limb, Ojiro's tail gave him multiple defensive options, extra reach, mobility, and superior balance. Also, it was _strong_. Ojiro's tail struck with the force of a sledgehammer, and Allen spent a good couple of minutes on the floor gasping for air after being jabbed by it in the diaphragm while he had been busy defending against a blistering combination aimed at his head.

The cover-up gel (Allen refused to call it make-up) that Midnight had given him had turned out great. His first few tries, he applied way too much—making him look like a department store mannequin, but fortunately—after some light teasing of course—Asui stepped up and enlisted the aid of Ashido, who pulled him aside and gave him a crash course in applying it correctly. He still got the occasional stares and whispers at school from people that knew about the brands in the first place, but at least he had some measure of peace in public.

As a side benefit, he had a chance to get to know the acid-wielding girl a bit better. Her appearance was pretty…unique, but Allen thought that she was quite attractive. Asui drily made the observation that he probably just liked big boobs when he admitted that to her, a charge that he couldn't truthfully deny. He had a great appreciation for how well Ashido filled out that costume of hers and it was difficult not to stare, especially with her tendency to jump up and down when excited—which was often. He wasted no time in asking for her number and began texting her regularly, finding her to be rather fun and quite a lot like him, even beyond their academic struggles.

His efforts with Momo had proven entirely fruitless. She had softened her behavior towards him slightly—whether it was out of pity or familiarity, he wasn't sure—but she had nonetheless made it abundantly clear that she did not reciprocate his attraction to her. Allen was a persistent guy, but he knew the difference between persistence and beating his head against the wall and this was definitely the latter. So, he ceased his casual attempts to compliment her or ask her out, and began treating her in the same respectfully formal way that she treated him. It was disappointing, but he wasn't about to get hung up on one girl when there were plenty of fish in the sea.

One morning, Allen got to school early. Cursing the sight of the empty classroom, he compared his watch with the clock on the wall and realized that it had gotten ahead by almost 30 minutes this time. "Really?" he muttered, resetting the time. "God damn cheap piece of shit...need to go ahead and get one of those ones that syncs with my phone automatically." He had some time to kill, so he whipped out his phone and started playing his latest favorite game. It was nothing super special or complicated, just a mobile clone of a popular bullet hell game from a couple of years back. Since it was a game that relied almost entirely on reflexes and ability to make quick decisions under pressure, Allen regularly made use of his quirk to tip the scales in his favor. Was it cheap? Yes. Did it piss off the other players who stood no chance of even touching his high scores? Absolutely, but Allen appreciated any chance to show off his ability, whether online or in the real world. The background noise faded out as Allen mindlessly focused on the machine in his hands.

"Ren-chan."

"Hmm?" Allen said; tearing his focus away from his phone to look into Asui's dark brown eyes. He glanced at the clock on the wall and saw that people were filing in the room and that class was going to start in five minutes…had it been that long already? Damn. "What's up Tsu-chan?" He asked.

"What are you doing after school today?"

Allen was surprised by the question, but thought for a moment, "I promised I would go shopping with my mom, and then I was thinking about training with my dad afterwards, but I could blow it off if it's really important. Why?"

Asui's expression did not change, "Want to go to the arcade with me?" She held up a voucher for ¥10000 at popular arcade in Tokyo. "Got this as a present for my birthday but never used it, ribbit. Today's the expiration date. You want to come?"

Allen thought for a moment, and then smiled. "Sure, why not? It's been too long since I went to an arcade. But I got to say, you don't really strike me as the gaming type, Tsu-chan."

Asui shook her head, "I'm not. That's why I never used the voucher, ribbit. Someone went to the trouble of getting it for me though, so I don't want it to go to waste."

"Fair enough." Allen said, "I'm curious though, why invite me? I consider you one of my better friends in the class but we haven't really hung out outside of school. I know that you occasionally hang with Uraraka-san and Ashido-chan. I would have thought you would bring them."

In response, Asui pointed to the flashing game over screen displayed on his phone, "As far as I know, neither of them play video games either. You do, ribbit."

Allen shrugged, "I guess I can't argue with that logic."

"Meet me there at 18:00." Asui said, "Don't be late, ribbit."

"I'll be there." Allen promised.

(Lunch)

"Hey Allen," Midoriya said with a hopeful glint in his eye, "I've got a little free time today, could I come by for the training session with you and your dad? I've been doing physical training for my quirk, but I can't let myself get too rusty. I want to be at my peak for the sports festival."

"An excellent plan, Midoriya-kun!" Iida remarked, "I myself will be training with my brother for the event as well!"

Allen shook his head apologetically, "Sorry man, I made different plans for the day."

Midoriya was surprised, "R-really? It's really rare that you ever blow off training. What for?"

"Tsu-chan invited me to go to the arcade with her," Allen said, "she got a voucher for it that expires today and I said I'd go."

Midoriya frowned, "I thought you were banned for life from the arcade after last time."

Allen waved his hand dismissively, "It's a different arcade, closer to this side of town. And even if it wasn't, it's been over two years, I doubt anyone cares anymore."

"They still had your picture up the last time I passed by there." Midoriya said.

"Wait," Uraraka said, "what happened 'last time' ya went ta an arcade? There sounds like there's a story there."

"Yes," Iida agreed, "I too wish to hear this story."

Allen merely scowled while Midoriya laughed and began to explain. "Back in our 2nd year of middle school, Allen went to the arcade by the station in my neighborhood and systematically beat every listed score on every game there over the course of a couple of weeks, setting the name as 'Bakugo Ballsucker'."

Uraraka started laughing out loud, and even Iida looked slightly amused-as much as he didn't like foul language, he liked Bakugo even less. "That's rather crude," Iida said, adjusting his glasses, "but nothing worthy of a lifetime ban."

Midoriya chortled, "Oh, it gets better. Nobody could beat Allen's scores and even if they did, he would quickly get their name back off of the listing again. Then Allen decided to start posting pictures of Bakugo up around the arcade with his name, so whenever Kacchan would go to the arcade or even pass by that part of the station, people would start asking him if he was the ballsucker who held all of the top scores. This drove him crazy, and he started spending all of his free time there trying to beat the scores and remove that name from the listings."

Iida looked at Allen aghast while Uraraka had tears streaming down her face she was laughing so hard. "Why would you do this Allen-kun?" he asked, "Surely there were better uses for your time?"

Allen shrugged, "Screwing with Bakugo is always a worthwhile use of my time. Fuck that asshole."

"So…so then what happened?" Uraraka asked once she had gotten control of herself.

Midoriya grinned weakly, "Kacchan caught Allen in the middle of putting up the pictures. They got into a…fight, if you could call it that."

Allen smirked, "Which I won."

Midoriya looked at him deadpan, "You kicked him in the balls and put his head through a wall, you're lucky that you didn't have charges pressed against you."

"He threatened to blow me up!" Allen exclaimed, "What was I supposed to do, let him?"

Midoriya turned to Iida and Uraraka; "Kacchan did his thing where he punches his palm and makes a mini blast to intimidate people. He didn't even get a full sentence out before Allen started hitting him."

Allen looked sheepish, "Well, he was _going_ to threaten to blow me up. You know him well enough to know that's true…anyways, who cares about ancient history, I'm living in the now! Anyone want to come with me?"

"I'm in," Midoriya said, "a break from training _would_ be nice. Plus, _somebody_ ' _s_ got to keep you out of trouble, after all."

"Ooh, me too!" Uraraka said excitedly, "I've never been to the arcade before! It sounds fun!"

The trio turned to Iida expectantly, and he cleared his throat. "I'm afraid I must decline." He said, looking regretful, "As I said earlier, I have training with my brother. He's taking precious time away from his hero work especially for me, so…"

"Don't worry about it Iida." Allen said, "We all know how much time with your brother means to you, and I'd leap at the chance to get personal training from Ingenium too."

Iida smiled. The tension between Allen and him had lessened considerably when Iida had told them about his connection to the high-ranked hero. As a fellow speedster, Ingenium was a favorite of Allen's.

"What time are we meeting?" Uraraka asked.

"At 18:00. Don't be late." Allen echoed Asui's words from earlier.

Uraraka gave a playful approximation of a military salute, "Yes sir!" She barked, before breaking down into giggles, making Allen roll his eyes.

(After School, PX at the Base)

Susan Martin rolled her eyes as Allen glanced at his watch for the fiftieth time since they had begun their shopping trip. "Is shopping with your mother really so painful?" Susan asked as she finished inspecting the carton of eggs for cracks and handed it to Allen, who placed it in the cart. "You've been watching the clock non-stop since we got here."

Allen shook his head, "No, mom. I'm meeting a friend at the arcade at 18:00 and I want to make sure I have enough time to get ready and get over there."

"Really?" Susan raised a delicate eyebrow; "I thought you were banned from the arcade after what happened last time."

"Different arcade."

"Hmm," Susan said, looking at Allen speculatively, "alright, but your father and I had better not be getting another repair bill…or calls about heads being shoved places where they don't belong."

Allen laughed, "I make no promises, but I doubt it will come to that today." After thinking for a second, Allen reached over to the nearest wooden object and knocked on it.

"Good idea," Susan said drily, "no point in invoking Murphy's wrath. Who's this 'friend' by the way? If it were Midoriya or that nice boy with the tail—"

"Ojiro Mashirao." Allen supplied.

"Yes, him—then you would have just told me so. Another friend from school?"

Allen nodded, "Yeah, her name's Tsuyu Asui. I've told you about her before."  
Recognition dawned on Susan's face, "Oh yes," she said, "the girl that you helped at the entrance exam. She also helped you sort out your little drama with Midoriya and that girl he likes."

"That's her."

Susan grinned wickedly, "Sooo, the arcade huh?" She teased, "Wanted to show off a little for her, did you? Is she cute? Have you already given up on what's-her-face…the girl with the long complicated name? I thought she was the 'most beautiful thing you had ever seen'."

Allen laughed, "It's not like that." He calmly denied, "She only invited me because she has a voucher that expires today. Midoriya and Uraraka are going too. Tsuyu is cute in her own way, but she isn't really my type, and I doubt I'm hers either. We're just friends. And if you're talking about Yaoyorozu, yeah, I've pretty much given up on that."

Susan pouted at Allen's boring reaction to her insinuation. She had been hoping that he would blush and get all embarrassed about it. "Why have you given up on Yo-Ya-Yow…" She struggled to pronounce Momo's name before giving it up as a bad job, "that other girl so quickly?"

Allen shrugged, "Not _that_ quickly. I've been trying to ask her out for weeks. She's been nice about it, but she's blown off every attempt I've made to get closer to her. I know how to take a hint. She's just not interested. It's disappointing, but I'm over it. It's not like there aren't a bunch of other cute girls at the school."

Susan huffed, offended that someone would write off her son. "Well good riddance, she must not be very clever if she isn't smart enough to recognize a good thing when she sees it!"

Allen coughed, "Uh…yeah, about that. Apparently Yaoyorozu is some kind of prodigy. She's at the top of our class in like, every subject. I don't think she's gotten less than a perfect grade ever."

"Oh," Susan said lamely, "well then I guess it goes to show that book smarts don't count for everything!" She changed the subject, "Well if it isn't this Tsuyu girl, is there anybody you've got your eye on now?"

"Hmm, maybe." Allen said, "I've been chatting with one of my classmates, Mina Ashido. She's pretty cool and we actually have a lot in common."

"Have you got a picture of her?" Susan asked.

Allen pulled out his phone, "Yeah, hold on." He logged into his social media account and pulled up her profile, "This is her," he said proudly, "she's cute right?"

Susan's eyebrow twitched minutely as she stared at the exposed cleavage of the girl's costume. After Allen's previous crush on Momo, she was beginning to see a pattern here. " _And how do all of these fifteen year old girls have bigger boobs than me?_ " she thought, suddenly irritated as she looked down at her slender frame. "She seems nice. She's very…" Susan struggled to find the right word, before settling on, "pink."

"Yeah," Allen replied, grabbing six boxes of his favorite cereal and shoving them into the cart, "I think it's pretty neat. Apparently it's related to her quirk."

"Oh?" Susan asked, "And what's that?"

"She makes acid. She can melt pretty much anything with it! I watched her eat a hole through concrete the other day."

"That's…nice." Susan replied weakly, "I feel like that would intimidate most guys."

"What?" Allen asked, confused, "Why would I be intimidated by her being able to make…" he trailed off and horrified understanding dawned on his face, making him look ill. "Thank you for that mental image mom," he said sarcastically, "I really needed that."

"Sorry honey." Susan apologized, though she didn't really feel sorry at all—make her feel insecure about her body would they? "Just try and forget about it. She would never do that to someone, right?"

Allen relaxed, "No, she wouldn't do that…I'm pretty sure."

"Can you get that bag of chips for me right there?" Susan asked, "We ought to get moving if you want to make it to your little date by 18:00."

Allen groaned, "It's not a date."

(Nagareboshi Arcade)

"Allen!"

"Allen-kun, over here!"

Allen grinned as he spotted the waving forms of Uraraka and Midoriya waiting for him at the front of the arcade. He checked his watch, and saw that it read 17:55. "Hey guys," he greeted with a smile, "have you seen Tsu-chan yet?"

They shook their heads, "No," Midoriya replied, "we actually just got here ourselves."

"Ren-chan." A voice croaked out from behind them, "…Midoriya-chan, Ochako-chan." Allen's eyes narrowed—if he wasn't mistaken, Asui's wide mouth had the slightest hint of a frown when she greeted the other two.

"Hey, Tsu-chan!" Allen said cheerfully, "I hope you don't mind that I invited these two, but I figured the more the merrier, right?"

"Right," she said after a few seconds, "let's go in and get our credit, ribbit." With that, she walked past the group and into the arcade without another word.

"Huh," Allen said as he watched her depart, he leaned over to whisper to Midoriya and Uraraka, "is it just me or does she seem a little pissed off?"

Midoriya shrugged, "I can't tell any difference from how she usually acts, but then again, she's pretty hard to read. Even when we were trapped on that boat at the USJ, her expression never changed."

Allen looked over at Uraraka who looked thoughtful. "She _did_ seem a little short with us...but maybe she's jus' excited ta play. It's hard ta guess what she's feelin' unless she tells you."

Allen scratched his head; "It was probably my imagination then. Let's head inside, I'm sure she's waiting for us." With that, the trio made their way inside and saw Asui waiting for them at the service counter with a placid expression on her face.

"Took you long enough," she croaked, "here are your cards." She handed each of them a card with ¥2500 yen on it.

Midoriya began waving his hands, and tried to return the card to Asui. "Y-you don't have to do that, Asu…Tsu-chan," he corrected quickly, "we _did_ show up unexpectedly after all. I brought enough money to play."

Uraraka on the other hand, accepted the card without hesitation, enthusiastically thanking Asui. She blushed at Midoriya's disappointed gaze. "What?" She said defensively, cradling the card to her chest, "I told ya that money is tight for me. I only came here with enough money ta play a handful of games."

"Just take it, Midoriya-chan." Asui said, gently pressing the card back into his hands, "Consider it thanks for saving me at USJ if you have to, ribbit."

"B-b-but you saved me first and…" Midoriya stammered.

"Dude!" Allen interrupted—he was getting tired of this little routine and just wanted to get down to business already, "Just take the freaking card. She wouldn't have offered it to you if she didn't want you to have it, right Tsu-chan?" Asui nodded. "See," Allen said, "now let's get to playing some games! Time's a wasting. What do you want to do first, Tsu-chan? DDR? Co-op shooter? Dealer's choice."

"I don't really care, ribbit." Asui said, "I already told you that I'm not much of a gamer. You pick."

"C'mon," Allen cajoled her, "you've got to have some kind of opinion. I'm awesome at everything, so it doesn't really matter what I do."

Asui croaked, "Humble aren't you."

"Just being honest. If I wasn't so set on being a hero, I could totally go pro. There were Korean teams that tried to scout me for Starcraft VIII when I was younger."

Midoriya leaned in to Uraraka, "I think we're being ignored." He whispered.

Uraraka nodded, staring intently at Asui during this exchange, noticing several things that she hadn't paid attention to before—Asui looked _cute_. She was wearing a green blouse with a thigh-length brown skirt and red shoes. Her hair was done up differently than usual into a sort of ponytail-looking style, and…was that _makeup?_ It was subtle enough that she had to look closely to be sure, but Uraraka could see evidence of cosmetics. Fuller eyelashes, hints of blush, things like that. She gasped and her face took on a canny expression when Allen's words came rushing back to her, " _Is it just me, or does she seem a little pissed off?"_

"Oh my gosh, Tsuyu-chan!" Uraraka said loudly, latching on to the frog-like girl and interrupting the dialogue between the two friends, "Ya look so cute today!"

Allen, Midoriya and Asui all exchanged a confused glance at Uraraka's seemingly random outburst. "Ribbit…thanks Ochako-chan." Asui replied.

"Allen-kun," Uraraka said, "don't Tsuyu-chan look super cute today?" Uraraka was smiling brightly when she directed her question at Allen, but there was something about the way she asked it that sent a chill down his spine telling him that he had better answer this question correctly or there would be consequences.

"Uh…" he felt put on the spot and wondered what had brought this on. Asui was staring blankly at him as he floundered for an answer, "I mean…" Allen looked at Asui closely, remembering his mother's advice on giving compliments.

" _If a girl has done something different with her appearance, a new haircut, a new dress, ect. It means a lot if you notice and comment on it._ "

"I like your…hair?" He said hesitantly, relaxing when he felt Uraraka's threatening aura dissipate a little, "It looks good done up like that. And this is the first time I've seen you in casual clothes." He gave her a thumbs up and a grin, "Super cute."

Uraraka beamed widely and grabbed Midoriya by the arm, dragging him away. "Let's go Deku-kun!" She said, "I wanna play that game over there! Thanks for the credits Tsuyu-chan!'

"Eh?" Midoriya said, "W-what? Ow!" He protested, "Uraraka-san, you're pulling my arm off! Slow down!"

Allen and Asui watched as the two disappeared into the crowd in awkward silence. "…That was weird." Allen finally said, scratching his head, "What do you think that was about? Tsu-chan?" He asked, seeing the girl staring vacantly in the direction that their friends had gone, "You still with us?"

Asui blinked, and then nodded. "I bet she thinks this was supposed to be a date, ribbit." She said bluntly, making Allen sputter with surprise. She shook her head. "Ochako-chan shouldn't do unnecessary things. Let's go try DDR. I'm pretty confident in my ability to hop."

"I bet you are," Allen agreed, mostly recovered from the surprise. "I'm still gonna win though."

"Ren-chan, you brute," Asui said in a dry monotone, "you won't take it easy on a fragile girl like me?"

Allen snorted, "Fragile my ass," he said, "Midoriya told me that you kicked a fish man in the head. You knocked him out in one blow too. I don't know if _I_ could even do that in the water. I'll tell you what though, to make this fair, I won't use my quirk."

"Okay, ribbit." Asui said, "What do you say we make this game more interesting?"

Allen raised an eyebrow, "Oh?" he said, curiosity piqued, "Interesting how?"

Asui put a finger to her chin and thought for a moment, "Loser owes the winner dinner at the restaurant of their choice—nothing too expensive though, we are just high school students after all."

Allen grinned wickedly and began rubbing his hands together, "Oh you are _so_ on!" He laughed, "Didn't think that you were the type to just throw your money away like that Tsu-chan."

Asui made a noncommittal noise, "We'll see." She hopped up onto the dance platform and picked a popular J-Pop song. "I like this song, ribbit."

"You sure about that?" Allen asked, swiping his card in the machine and taking his place beside her, "You know this is one of the hardest songs on here, right? You might want to start with something a little easier first."

"I'll be fine."

And she was—as soon as the song started playing, the directions began blazing across the screen at a blistering speed, and the two began dancing in time to the beat. A small crowd began gathering to watch the two once they realized how well the pair was pulling it off.

"Holy crap," one of the patrons said, "neither of them have missed anything yet!"

Allen was impressed. True to his word, he had not activated his quirk, relying on his already pretty great reflexes and his familiarity with the game to see him through—but the pressure was beginning to get to him. He had never tried to do a song of this level without being in at least his 2X mode and he knew it was only a matter of time before he slipped up. Sparing a second during a break in the song he glanced over at Asui's score and his jaw nearly dropped—Allen was definitely doing well, he had not scored anything lower than a "Great". But Asui was on another level altogether, having gotten a "Perfect" on every single note. " _I totally just got played for a sucker_ ," Allen thought ruefully as the song started back up again in earnest, " _Tsu-chan is just full of surprises isn't she?"_

Another minute later and the song had finished. Asui's screen flashed, declaring that she held the new high score. Stepping up to the touchscreen, she quickly typed in the name "Froppy". The small crowd broke out into applause as the two stepped off of the platform. While Allen grinned and bowed to the people watching, Asui just shook her head. The only sign that she had done anything strenuous at all was a small bead of sweat on her forehead. "That was fun, ribbit. What's next? You owe me dinner by the way."

Allen put his hands on his hips and stared her down, "Not much of a gamer, huh?" He referenced with a mocking monotone before he broke out into a grin, "Tsu-chan, you liar."

"Not a lie." Asui replied, unphased by Allen's attempt to call her out, "I told you I was confident in my hopping."

"I don't care how 'confident' you are," he said, "you don't just get a perfect score on a song like that without being intimately familiar with its ins and outs beforehand. Admit it Tsu-chan, you played me!"

"Like a fiddle." Asui admitted with no shame whatsoever, "You were acting a little too full of yourself Ren-chan. What kind of friend would I be if I let you keep walking around with that undeserved sense of superiority, ribbit?"

"A less expensive one." Allen replied, "You could have done the same thing without scamming a dinner out of me you know."

Asui glanced at Allen, and then shrugged. "A girl's gotta eat, ribbit."

Allen laughed, "One more game!" He said, "Double or nothing!"

"Not a chance, Ren-chan."

"Come on," he goaded her, "you scared?"

"No," she replied, "I'm just smarter than you. I hope you like Udon."

(With Midoriya and Uraraka)

"Oraoraoraoraoraoraora!" Uraraka yelled as she pounded the colored drum pads of the rhythm game she had picked to play. "Whew," she said, wiping her brow with a beaming grin, "that was _so_ much fun! What ya want to do next Deku-kun?"

Midoriya laughed sheepishly. He could feel the angry and jealous eyes of all the single guys glaring at him and it was making him feel self-conscious. "Uh, w-whatever you want to do is fine with me Uraraka-san." He said nervously, "I'm just happy that you're having fun."

Uraraka slugged Midoriya in the arm good naturedly, "Come on Deku-kun, don't be a bore!" She said, "There's gotta be a game here that ya like!"

Midoriya eyed and unused console in the corner with a very distinctive hairstyle logo on it, "Well…"

Uraraka followed his line of vision and snorted when she saw what it was, "'All Might: The Official Video Game'?" She read gleefully, making him blush, "Ya sure do have a one track mind, don't ya?"

"Well…I…uh." Midoriya stammered. Yes, he was a All Might fanboy—second to none in that regard, but was it really so weird?

"Don't worry about it, Deku-kun," Uraraka reassured him, "it's ok. It's kinda cool how much ya look up to him, really. Let's play!"

" _Cool_?" He thought, forcibly reminding himself not to get his hopes up as he followed her to the machine, his face beet red. " _Why does she keep saying stuff like that to me when she knows what it does to me? Is she trying to torture me?_ " The two of them swiped their cards into the machine and Midoriya automatically scrolled over to All Might's place on the character select and picked him.

"Wahahaha! I am here!" the figure on the screen boomed before going into a bodybuilding pose, flexing his muscles and making Uraraka laugh.

"He..he did that exact pose for our class! Hahaha!" Uraraka scrolled through the rest of the hero list before eventually settling on Best Jeanist.

The character crossed its hands in front of his face in a flamboyant gesture, making the fibers of his outfit unravel slightly. "I'll show you what it means to be an excellent hero!"

"I-interesting choice Uraraka-san." Midoriya commented as the first level loaded, "Best Jeanist is kind of hard to use, why'd you pick him? After All Might, Endeavor is the easiest character to get the hang of."

Uraraka shrugged, "No real reason, Endeavor jus' seems like kind of a jerk ta me. I didn't really wanna play as him."

"F-fair enough."

The level had finally loaded and the two started playing. The game itself was nothing amazing, a typical beat 'em up 2-D side scroller, Uraraka and Midoriya controlled their heroes and used basic attacks and special moves to take down the hordes of enemies coming at them from all sides.

All Might was, as expected, a purely physical force, getting in close and unleashing powerful punches that would take out most standard enemies in one blow. Whenever his special meter was full, he would yell, "TEXAS SMASH!" and blow away every opponent directly in his path.  
Best Jeanist was more of a ranged fighter, catching enemies with his thread and throwing them across the screen with the chance of hitting other enemies for extra damage. His special immobilized every enemy on the screen and slammed them together for massive damage.

"This is actually pretty fun!" Uraraka exclaimed cheerfully when they finally cleared the first level. She had used up several of her continues already, while Midoriya had yet to lose his first life. "I heard that licensed games like these usually suck!"

Midoriya nodded, "Yeah, they do. There have been over 500 different All Might themed games over the course of his career. Most have them have been bootlegs where they just slapped his sprite into an already existing game. A consequence of this has been that the aggregate average review score of these games has been a paltry 3.5 out of 10, however, this was the first one that he was personally involved in the creation of and…" Midoriya trailed off upon seeing the amused look in Uraraka's eye at his sudden lecture. "Uh, I mean, this one is good."

Uraraka looked like she was about to bust a gut. "Deku-kun, you've gotta be the biggest nerd I've ever met in my life."

Midoriya looked down at the console, his eyes watering, "Yeah," he said, "I…I didn't really have any friends from the time I was 4 until I met Allen, so I sort of threw myself into following the heroes I looked up to."

Uraraka pushed him lightly, "Oh wipe that miserable look off of yer face, I'm only jokin' with ya."

Midoriya laughed awkwardly, "Oh…yeah, I knew that."

Uraraka smiled, practically blinding Midoriya with her bright, sunny disposition. "Let's play the next level!" She cheered, "I think I'm gettin' the hang of it now!"

Midoriya smiled. "Yeah," he replied, "let's keep going." The two played in relative silence for a while, save for the occasional frustrated outbursts from Uraraka as she died or Midoriya's laugh when he snatched up a power-up right from under her nose. "H-Hey, Uraraka-san?" Midoriya asked after taking a deep breath to find his courage, as this had been bothering him for a while.

"Yeah Deku-kun?" Uraraka's tongue was sticking out comically as she mashed the buttons, focusing as hard as she could on staying alive.

"Why did you pull me away from Allen and Asui-san?"

Uraraka froze, and as a result she took a hit that drained the last bit of health from her character, dropping Best Jeanist to his knees. "I can't lose in a place like this!" the character said before disappearing from the screen, prompting the deposit of additional credits.

"What do you mean?" She asked carefully, swiping the card once more and returning to the game. "I just wanted to play some games with you."  
Midoriya was silent for a second as he activated his character's special, eliminating an entire wave of enemies from the screen. "Well, it's just that you've avoided being alone with me ever since…y-you know." They both flushed, "And I don't blame you…it's awkward for me too…I'm just surprised that you would do it now, since people could easily mistake this as a…" he gulped, "a-a-a date." He went into a panic, "N-n-not that I think that this _is_ a date, I-I know it isn't and that you wouldn't ever think that way about s-someone like me, but…I'm just confused."

Uraraka's heart ached a little bit at how thoughtlessly Midoriya had just put himself down—like he was totally unworthy of being loved. She wasn't sure if her genuine feelings of admiration for the shy boy would ever blossom into romantic ones, but hearing someone so wonderful dismiss himself like that was awful. The thought that her reaction the involuntary airing of his feelings might have contributed to that made her feel even worse. "Ain't no real reason," Uraraka replied, "I jus' had a hunch that Tsuyu-chan wanted ta be alone with Allen-kun, that's all."

"Oh." Midoriya replied, "I-I see." He looked pensive as he continued to pulverize the virtual bad guys on the screen en masse. "You think that Tsuyu-san likes Allen, don't you?" He asked, putting two and two together.

"Maybe." Uraraka said, "I do think they'd totally be adorable together though." She paused. "Hey, Deku-kun?"

"Y-yeah?"

"I'm sorry 'bout how I reacted before." She continued mashing wildly mashing the buttons on the machine, thankful that she didn't have to maintain eye contact. She was already embarrassed enough as it was, but she felt like she had to get this out. "I haven't known ya for very long yet, but I honestly think that you're pretty amazin'. Ya jumped in an' saved me durin' the entrance exam, even though it broke yer bones and almost cost ya the chance ta come to Yuuei. Ya fought so well against that Bakugo and ya saved Tsu-chan and Mineta at USJ."

Incredibly, Midoriya didn't blush, or stammer during her entire spiel. Instead, he seemed to be doing his very best to burn a hole into the carpet with his eyes. "I'm really nothing so special." he said quietly, "I talked big during the battle trial, but I couldn't do anything against Kacchan once he got serious. At the USJ I had to be saved by Asui-san and then again by Aizawa-sensei and All Might. When All Might was in trouble, I couldn't do anything…if Kacchan and Todoroki hadn't been there, All Might would have…he would have…" Midoriya clenched his fists tightly, unable to say it out loud. "I'm still weak." He said with a determined look in his eyes, "I've still got a long way to go before I can accept being called amazing."

"Yer so weird Deku-kun." Uraraka said with a giggle, "Even when yer puttin' yourself down, ya still believe that you can find a way."

Midoriya blushed and rubbed the back of his head, "Haha, I-I guess you're right about that."  
"What ya said earlier," Uraraka said, blushing equally, "'bout me never thinking that way 'bout someone like you…I might not be sure how I feel right now, but don't give up okay?"

"Eh?" Midoriya squeaked in surprise, then freaked out as her words actually sank in, "EEEEEEH?"

"Ooh! A punching test!" Uraraka spat out quickly, needing to stand up and remove herself from the awkward situation, "Deku-kun, let's go do that!"

"But I still haven't died on this yet…" Midoriya protested, "Wait, that's not important! What did you mean by that earlier, Uraraka-san! Uraraka-san!"

"That bag won't punch itself, Deku-kun!"

(Two hours later)

The four students stood outside the arcade. It had taken a while, but they had finally played enough to wipe the cards clean. "Thanks a lot for this Tsu-chan!" Allen exclaimed, stretching his shoulders, "I needed this more than I thought."

"Y-yeah," Midoriya agreed, "thanks a lot, Tsuyu-san!"

Uraraka wrapped Asui in a hug, "I had so much fun!" She gushed, "Thanks Tsuyu-chan!"

"Don't mention it, ribbit." Asui said, "It was nothing much."

"Ya weren't kidding 'bout bein' great at games, Allen-kun!" Uraraka said, punching the air excitedly, "I kept seein' yer name up on the top of the screen after I played!"

"Don't praise him," Asui croaked, "he's a dirty cheater."

"Don't hate," Allen scoffed, "you're just mad that I utterly crushed you in everything after the first game."

"You used your quirk." Asui said, "Pretty sure most people would consider that cheating, ribbit."

"Using the natural abilities that I was _born_ _with_ does not count as _cheating_." Allen retorted, "How many times do I have to say that before it sinks in?"

"Are you allowed to use quirks in official competitions?" Asui asked rhetorically.

"Well…no, not _technically_." Allen admitted.

"Then it's cheating."

Allen waved his hand, "Only if you're caught. Quirk use in E-Sports is about as well regulated as steroid use in cycling was back in the 20th century."

"Cheating doesn't sound very heroic Ren-chan."

"Is it really cheating if everybody is doing it?" Allen countered, "If you look up the quirks of every top player in the world, they _all_ have something to do with enhanced reflexes, hand-eye coordination, or technopathy. You think that's just a coincidence?"

"I think it's cheating."

"ARGBFL!" Allen made a strangled noise from frustration and wrung his hands like he was strangling someone.

"Wait a minute," Midoriya said, realizing something; "you said that you crushed her in everything _after_ the first game. Does that mean that you _lost_ at a videogame to Tsuyu-san?"

Allen scowled, "Yeah," he admitted, "I lost." He pointed to Asui, "Don't be fooled by her innocent face, she's a total DDR shark. She totally scammed me for a free dinner!"

"It was a fair bet," Asui said, "I didn't say anything that was a lie."

"You two are goin' ta dinner together?" Uraraka asked with a gleam in her eye.

"Those were the terms of the bet." Allen replied, "The loser takes the winner to the restaurant of their choice and pays for the meals."

"Hmm," Uraraka said, "I see."

"How did you two fare?" Allen asked, "You both ran off so quickly when we got here, and I barely saw you the entire time…kinda defeats the purpose of coming together in the first place, doesn't it?"

Both Uraraka and Midoriya looked at each other, blushed and started laughing awkwardly at this question. "Oh…you know," Uraraka said, "I was jus' excited since this was my first time at an arcade…I uh, jus' wanted Deku-kun to show me the ropes without gettin' in yer way. Ain't that right, Deku-kun?"

"Y-yeah!" Midoriya agreed with a stricken expression, "S-show her the ropes. That's what I did. That's why we left. No other reason than that. No sir."

" _He's so bad at lying_!" Allen, Uraraka, and Asui all thought at the same time.

"Riiight." Allen said, "Well, it's getting late, so we should be getting home. Do you want me to escort you to the dorms, Tsu-chan? A teenage girl shouldn't walk home by herself at this time of night." He looked her in the eye and discretely cocked his head in Midoriya and Uraraka's direction. " _Let's allow them some more alone time together."_ He tried to say with his body language, hoping that she would get the message.

"Sure." Asui said, "I won't object if you really want to, but just so you know, there probably aren't many places in Japan safer than the area surrounding Yuuei's campus."

"Momma Martin didn't raise no boor," Allen replied, "of course I want to." He whipped out his phone, "I'm just going to text my parents real quick and tell them I'll be a bit delayed getting back." Allen fired off a text and put the phone away, "Ok, message sent!" He turned to Uraraka and Midoriya, and gave his best friend a _very_ significant look. "Good night you guys," he said cheerfully, "I'll see you in the morning! Let's go, Tsu-chan." The two made their way down the street.

"That was really sweet of him to do that!" Uraraka cooed, "They're just soo _cute_ together."

At that moment, Midoriya's phone buzzed. "Huh?" he said, "That's weird, I wonder who would be texting me at this time of night?" He pulled out his phone and let out a squeak when he read it.

" _Offer to walk her to her apartment or I swear to God I will put my boot so far up your ass that you'll be tasting leather for a week! If she asks, this is your mom asking what time you'll get back."_

"What did it say?" Uraraka asked curiously.

"N-nothing!" Midoriya lied, "I-it was just my mom asking when I'll get back!" He paused and took a deep breath. "Um, d-do you need me to walk you back to your apartment?" He shut his eyes and clenched his fists, preparing himself for the answer.

"Sure!" Uraraka beamed, "That'd be nice, Deku-kun!" She giggled, "Who'd have thought you'd be takin' cues on manners from Allen-kun of all people!"

"W-what? I-I uh…" Midoriya stammered, flailing his hands around, "I-I don't know what you're talking about!"

"You're a _really_ bad liar Deku-kun."

The road to the dorms on Yuuei's campus was dark and silent. The only sound that could be heard was the slap of Allen and Asui's shoes on the pavement as they walked. Uncomfortable with the silence, Allen felt the need to speak. "I've been thinking Tsu-chan."

"Ribbit; sounds painful."

"Ha ha," Allen laughed sarcastically, "you're a real riot, you know that?"

"No," she said, "I'm a frog."

Allen did laugh legitimately at that. "Your jokes suck Tsu-chan." He said chuckling, "They're really stupid."

"Must be why you like them so much, ribbit."

Allen pinched his nose, "Okay, I totally walked into that one." He scowled, "Stop distracting me! I was gonna say something, and now I can't remember what!"

"You've been thinking." Asui supplied.

Allen snapped his fingers, "Right! I was thinking about what you said earlier, about Uraraka thinking this was supposed a date!"

Asui stopped walking, frozen in place. "What about it?"

"Well, I was just thinking that this would be a great date idea for me and Ashido. It was a ton of fun, and if it can get someone as tightly wound as Midoriya to loosen up around Uraraka-san, then it would be bound to work for me, right?

Asui started walking again, "I think you two are probably loose enough as it is, ribbit." Her voice was flatter than usual and she was looking at the ground as she said this.

Allen's eyes widened at the hostile sounding reply, "Whoa, whoa, what the hell was that?" He asked, "Are you upset with me about something?"

"No." She replied, shaking her head, "I'm just yanking your chain, Ren-chan. You should take her there…she'll have a great time with you."

"You sure?" Allen asked, "That seemed somehow different than your usual ball busting."

"It was a dumb joke Ren-chan," Asui said, "let it go." The two of them walked in silence for the next few minutes after this, until they finally reached a large building. "This is it," Asui said, holding up her student ID to the door to buzz it open and walked inside, "good night Ren-chan."

"Night Tsu-chan, I'll see you—" Allen was cut off by the door closing in his face, "tomorrow." he finished. "Okay yeah, she's _definitely_ pissed about something." He scratched his head, "Is it because I called her jokes stupid? I was kidding…" he shrugged, "I'll apologize when I see her in the morning."

Asui watched from the 2nd story window of the dorm as Allen walked away down the road. "Ren-chan, you really aren't very smart, are you?"

 **AN: This chapter was an absolute** _ **joy**_ **to write. I actually wrote most of it before I even started on the previous chapter because I was so excited by the ideas in it. In case anybody is still wondering after this, I have decided on the eventual pairing of Allen X Tsuyu. Like Uraraka, I just can't help but ship them because of how much I love the way that these two play off of each other in my head. Unfortunately for Tsu-chan, Allen is still too stupid and immature to realize it just yet. Speaking of Uraraka, if anybody is wondering about her dialect, yes, that is my approximation of the kansai-ben. Stay tuned for the next chapter, and as always, please take the time to leave a review.**


	11. Furious Preparations

Ch. 11: Furious Preparations

Susan was giving Allen concerned glances as he stared blankly at the table, lost in thought as he mindlessly shoveled food into his mouth. While this wasn't _entirely_ unusual behavior—especially since the USJ—her son was brooding significantly harder than usual today.

"You seem kind of upset this morning sweetie, did your date with your friend not go well last night?"

Allen frowned, "I have the feeling that she was upset about something, but I don't know why…also, mom, for the millionth time, it wasn't a date."

"Well what happened? I _was_ a high school girl once, you know, so I might be able to offer some perspective."

"Yeah, a million years ago, judging from your obvious memory problems." Allen muttered under his breath.

"What was that sweetie?" Susan asked with a tight-lipped smile that Allen associated with imminent danger. "You need to speak up, since I'm so _old_ , my hearing isn't quite what it used to be."

Allen gulped, "I said I'd love to hear the wisdom of my young and beautiful mother!"

"That's what I _thought_ you said! Now tell me what happened!"

Allen ran his hand through his hair, "I really have no idea what happened, plus, she's really hard to read to begin with, so this is just based on a gut feeling on my part, so I dunno where to start…hmm."

"The beginning is usually a good place." Susan said drily, "Now quit stalling, you only have a limited time before you have to leave for the station."

Allen laughed sheepishly at being called out and spent the next five minutes giving her an abbreviated version of the previous night's events. When he finished his account, Susan lightly smacked Allen upside the head. "Ech!" he exclaimed, "What the heck was that for?"

"How did I raise such a dense moron for a son," she moaned piteously, dropping her face into her hands, "where did I go wrong?"

Allen looked at her with a deadpan expression, "So are you going to tell me what I did so wrong or are you just going to keep complaining about how stupid I am? My grade point average should have clued you in on that little tidbit already, so I don't know why you're being so dramatic about it now."

Susan sighed, "Allen, you said that your friend…"

"Tsuyu." Allen supplied, "How do you have so much trouble remembering my friends' names? I tell you about them all the time!"

"I don't speak Japanese!" Susan shot back, "All of those words and names just run together for me, and I can barely pronounce the ones I _do_ know! And don't interrupt!"

"Sorry."

Susan took a moment to recollect her thoughts, "You said that you got the impression that _Tsuyu_ was upset twice that night. Now think: what were you doing right before she got upset?"

Allen looked annoyed, "Seriously? Can't you just tell me what I did wrong instead of making me do this every time?"

Susan shook her head, "You won't learn anything if I just tell you the answer, and I've spent a lot of time and effort making sure that you won't be the same tactless, oblivious boor that your father was when _we_ were in high school." She gave Allen a narrow eyed gaze, "Though apparently I've only had limited success. Now answer the question."

"I wasn't doing anything wrong!" Allen protested, "The first time, I was just standing there talking with Uraraka and Midoriya; the second time, the only thing I can think of is that I said that her jokes sucked, but I was laughing when I said it! I was obviously joking!"

Susan sighed, "What did you ask her immediately after you said that?"

"If she thought that Ashido—the pink girl I showed you yesterday," Allen clarified before the question could be asked, "would like that arcade if I invited her there as a date. Those two are desk mates and friends, so I figured she would know better than…I…would" Allen trailed off as realization dawned on his face, "You think _that's_ what upset her?"

Susan nodded. "That would make more sense to me than getting upset over an obvious joke." She began ticking off points with her fingers, "First, she invites you out. She gets upset when she sees you there with two other people that she didn't invite herself—"

"I said I only _think_ she got upset, and she split up the voucher for all of us without them asking!"

"Don't interrupt." Susan scolded him; "She changed up her usual look, wearing her hair differently."

"But—"

"Zip it!" Susan barked, "Then she ropes you into a bet where—win or lose—the two of you would be going out for dinner in the future."

Allen forced himself to stay quiet, but he was still rationalizing in his head, " _She said that she was just deflating my ego, she does that all the time!_ _Dinner might have been an…unusual…choice for a forfeit, but I might have done the same thing to somebody else!_ "

"Then, while you are walking her home, you ask her if she thinks that _her friend_ would enjoy it the same activity that she invited _you_ to, but as a _date_." Susan paused to let the information sink in, "Now, with all of that in mind, tell me why you think she was upset with you again."

Allen crossed his arms and shook his head stubbornly, "I _think_ that you're reading too much into the situation. We are _just friends_. She never got upset when I asked her for advice on Yaoyorozu. She even denied that she thought it was a date when Uraraka started acting weird and dragged Midoriya off to leave us alone. She has _always_ been upfront and honest with me about whatever is on her mind, even when it would have been easier for her to lie to me to spare my feelings."

"Then why didn't you believe her about not being upset?"

Allen paused, "I don't know, maybe she was just tired and grumpy. Or maybe she's having trouble dealing with what happened at USJ—she almost died too, you know."

Susan's face paled at that revelation—that actually was an explanation that she couldn't dismiss out of hand. "What? I thought that you, Midoriya and, um…Mashirao were the only students to get hurt."

Allen nodded, gritting his teeth in anger at the thought of how close of a call it had been, "According to Mr. Aizawa, the lead villain had some quirk that let him disintegrate anything he touched…and he got his hands on her and Midoriya. If he hadn't been there to erase that bastard's quirk, or if All Might had arrived even a second later…" Allen shook his head, "Anyways, I remember you telling me that people's feelings and actions usually have nothing to do with me personally." Allen looked at the clock on the wall. "I have to go, but I'll try to talk to her again today and tell you about it when I get home." Allen grabbed his bag and made for the door.

"Okay, sweetie. Have a good day."

"Uh-huh, you too. Bye mom."

(UA—Classroom)

Asui was sitting in her seat, chatting with Ashido when Allen arrived. Other than her hair being up in the same style that he had complimented yesterday, she didn't seem any different than she usually was, and all traces of her bad mood seemed to have disappeared—not that it was super obvious in the first place. "Morning Tsu-chan, Ashido-chan!" Allen greeted, "Is the hair going to be a new look for you now?"

Asui nodded, "It's more out of the way like this," she said, "it takes a bit longer to style, so I have to get up earlier, but it's worth it."

"It's also suuuuuuper cute!" Ashido added with a grin, she wrapped the smaller girl up in a hug and rubbed a pink cheek against Asui's like she was a stuffed animal. Ashido gave Allen a sly grin, "Isn't it just the cutest thing you've ever seen Allen-kun?" Asui shot Ashido her closest approximation of a dirty look.

"Yeah," Allen agreed, "it looks good. I already told her that last night."

Ashido squeezed Asui even tighter, "Some things just bear repeating though! Over and over and over!"

"Please stop." Asui said flatly, "Your horn is poking me."

"Sorry Tsu-chan!" Ashido replied, "I just couldn't help myself!"

"Hey, Tsu-chan," Allen said, getting her attention, "About last night—"

"Everybody get to your seats!" Ida boomed, cutting him off while gesticulating wildly, "Class is about to start and there must be order!"

Allen groaned, but did as instructed, "We'll talk later, then." He promised. However, try as he might, Allen was finding it difficult to make that 'later' happen. During lunch and the brief periods between classes, Allen couldn't find a way to talk to Asui in private as she was constantly surrounded by the other girls in the class. They shot him less than subtle glances and talked in hushed whispers as he approached, creating such a heavy atmosphere that he didn't feel comfortable intruding on them. He was lost in thought over the whole thing when he was snapped out of his funk by an increasingly familiar burst of boisterous laughter.

"HAHAHAHA!" All Might laughed, as he walked through the classroom door. "I am here…to begin our next lesson in heroics!"

All Might struck a pose, and Aizawa—who was standing nearby—sighed and rolled his eyes. "Does you really have to do that every time _?_ "

All Might continued on in his usual bombastic faction, undeterred by Aizawa's irritated reaction. "With the sports festival rapidly approaching us, experiencing combat against a variety of quirks is essential! For the last trial of combat, you got a taste of working in a team, but for the trial ahead, the ability to rely on yourself is a must! Today we will be having a round robin of one on one battles! Each match will consist of two five-minute rounds!" All Might pointed at Aizawa, "Aizawa-sensei will be assisting me today to ensure that none of the matches get out of hand."

All Might paused and delivered a cheery, but very direct stare at the row containing Allen, Bakugo and Midoriya—who sheepishly rubbed their head, scoffed derisively and laughed nervously respectively. Satisfied that his point had been made, he pressed a button and the student's costumes popped out of the wall with a hiss. "All right young heroes! Suit up and meet us out by Training Ground Theta!"

(Locker Room)

"What the hell is _that_ , dumbass?" Bakugo exclaimed, pointing at Allen.

"Hmm?" Allen replied, following the accusatory finger with his eyes and gestured to the pistol being strapped to his waist. "Oh, this? I know that Japan is pretty hardcore with its laws regulating these, but I would have thought you'd be able to recognize a gun when you see one."

"I _know_ what a gun is you retard, I mean why do you have one?"

"…To shoot things, obviously." Allen said slowly, as if he were talking to a particularly slow child. "It's kind of what guns are for."

Bakugo yelled in frustration and let off a few explosions in his palm and Kirishima put a calming hand on the explosive teen's shoulder. "Don't touch me, you fucking gimp!" Loathe as he was to validate Bakugo in any way, Allen couldn't help but laugh at that—Kirishima's outfit did slightly resemble bondage gear.

"Chill dude." Kirishima responded, demonstrating that his thick skin wasn't limited to his quirk by easily brushing off the insult. He turned to Allen, "Can you two at the very least not do this in here please? The acoustics in here really amplify the sound and Koda's got sensitive ears." He jerked a thumb back to the nearly mute member of the class, who was indeed covering his ears with a pained expression.

Allen felt terrible. He didn't know Koda very well—or at all really—and had never heard him say a word in the entire time they had been in school, but it didn't mean that he was okay with causing him pain just because he enjoyed pissing Bakugo off. "Sorry Koda," Allen said, "I'll try to keep the fighting to a minimum from now on." Allen, and the rest of the class gave Bakugo a significant look.

"The fuck are you losers looking at?" Bakugo growled—though at a much lower volume, "If you don't want to deal with the consequences, then don't piss me off!"

"Hold on a minute!" Iida interjected, looking annoyed, "I have been trying to get you two to stop needlessly quarreling since school started and you've ignored me every time!"

"Yeah," Allen said, "but that was you just being your normal bossy self, so I was totally okay with blowing you off. I'm not gonna keep doing something that hurts one of my classmates, though. I'm not a total asshole." " _Unlike some other people I could mention._ " Allen thought, not wanting to break his pledge to try and keep the peace in the locker room within a minute of making it.

"So, just out of curiosity," Kaminari said, "why _do_ you have a gun?"

"Well first of all, it isn't a real gun," Allen admitted, pulling the replica M1911 out of its holster and holding it up for them to see, "it uses pellets. It'll sting, but that's about it."

"Then why have one at all?" Mineta asked, "No point in having a tool if it can't perform, am I right? Hehehe."

Allen rolled his eyes. "During the villain attack, I realized how helpless I am at a distance, so I put in an application for one for hero use. Turns out even heroes have to jump through an _insane_ amount of hoops in order to qualify. This is just to familiarize me with the weight and work on my draw speed and accuracy on the move. I can't actually take the test for the real thing until I get my hero license, but the school gave me this in order to prepare me in the meantime."

"You know, I _was_ actually wondering how Snipe ever got through Yuuei without being able to really make use of his quirk." Ojiro said, looking thoughtful. "His ability is kind of useless without a weapon."

Allen nodded, "Yeah, the school makes certain allowances for stuff like that, as long as you pass the entrance exam and submit the proper documentation." Allen placed the model pistol back into its holster. "You guys go ahead, I've just got one last thing to do before I'm ready."

Walking over to the bathroom's mirror, Allen pulled out an alcohol wipe and removed the make-up from his face to expose his brands. As the bright red marks gradually came into view, Allen's normally friendly expression faded away and was replaced by a serious, angry stare. Allen clenched his fists tightly enough that the sound of his knuckles popping could be clearly heard. Those present to witness this little ritual shifted uncomfortably—lately, whenever he donned his hero outfit, it was like Allen became a different person altogether—and it wasn't a pleasant person either. When asked why he would bother exposing his brands when they obviously upset him, he steadfastly refused to answer, asserting that it was nobody else's business but his.

"What the hell are you all looking at?" Allen snapped at his friends, influenced by the dark emotions that churned inside him when he saw them watching him. "I thought I told you all to go ahead."

"W-we d-don't mind waiting, Allen." Midoriya stammered. It wasn't the first time he had seen this transformation, but he never stopped being taken aback at the hostility coming from his best friend. "We j-just wanted to walk there together with you, that's all."

Allen glared at his nervous friend for a few seconds before taking a deep breath. The anger visibly faded from his face as the seconds ticked by, "Shit…I'm sorry, you guys." He finally said, "Looking at these things just pisses me off all over again, but it isn't fair to take it out on you. Let's get this show on the road."

(Training Ground Theta)

"All right you zygotes!" All Might boomed, before gesturing to an electronic board, "If you would kindly look up to the board, you will see your randomly selected matches for the first spar!"

"And don't bother complaining to us about your opponent," Aizawa added unenthusiastically, "because villains don't care if you are a good match-up for their abilities, and neither do we."

Everybody nodded and did as instructed, although there were some people who had trouble following the instructions against complaining. Mineta's tearful reaction to his pairing with Todoroki was well deserved in Allen's opinion, and he took a moment to revel in the schadenfreude. It might have been petty, but after hearing about how the diminutive pervert had taken advantage of the chaos at the USJ to grope Asui, his empathy for the boy was nonexistent.

"I hope your dick freezes off, you little..."

"Hey Allen," Ojiro said, drawing Allen's attention away from his other classmates. "Looks like it's the two of us. How's that for lucky?" The tailed teen smirked, "Do me a favor and try not to lose too quickly this time. It'd be embarrassing to call you a rival if you keep going down so fast whenever you face me, you know."

Allen's eyes narrowed at his friend's good-natured taunting and he took up a fighting stance. "Don't worry." He replied in a low, threatening tone, "I'll try not to embarrass you."

Ojiro frowned, "Come on man," he complained, "you're usually so much better with the banter! That's like, half the fun of fighting you in the first place!"

"If fun is what your after," Allen replied, "then you're going to be disappointed."

The start of the match was signaled by the sound of a bell. Allen entered his 2X mode without a word and shot forward in a blur of motion, starting the fight with a bone jarringly powerful side kick that Ojiro only barely managed to get his tail up to block in time, sending him staggering backward. Ojiro swiped low with his tail, hoping to catch Allen's legs and trip him up, but met only air. After eating a stiff left jab from an angle that he couldn't even see, Ojiro immediately leapt to his right; the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end when he felt the wind from Allen's right fist as it passed through the space that his head had previously occupied.

" _That was close!"_ Ojiro thought, " _Was he trying to take my head off with that one?_ " He planted his tail firmly against the ground and using it as a spring to launch himself up into the air over Allen's head and landed in a crouch with his back to the speedster. Anticipating an attack, he launched a Capoeira-inspired attack from the ground, spinning like a top but failing to connect with anything. Ojiro used the momentum of the flashy attack to leap to his feet and reassume a fighting stance. He felt a flash of frustration when he saw Allen standing beyond his reach, calmly observing him. " _I was almost certain that he would have gone on the attack when my back was turned…how did he know I was going to do that? I've never used any of my Capoeira moves in front of him before!_ " Not taking his attention off of Allen, Ojiro gingerly pressed a hand to his face where it had been struck and hissed with pain, " _This hurts so much more than our regular spars! He's not even wearing his tactical gloves, those are regular MMA gloves—is this how hard he hits when he isn't pulling his punches?"_

Allen did not give Ojiro any time to rest, continually attacking his friend like a man with something to prove. Unlike the spars that they had shared before, there were no smiles, no jokes. Consequently, the next ten minutes had Ojiro thanking whatever deities listening that he was somewhat familiar with Allen's fighting style, since it was the only thing that kept him from being unceremoniously knocked out. As it was, he still got the utter crap kicked out of him.

Ojiro was a very good martial artist—he easily would have been nationally ranked had he chosen to compete in that way. In terms of raw skill and technical know-how, he was better than Allen. However, it simply wasn't enough to match up to Allen's speed when he properly used his quirk. This was largely thanks to the uncharacteristic caution and patience Allen was displaying—never blindly rushing in, or over committing to an assault. Allen had his quirk activated at its lowest level for most of the fight, as Ojiro could be very sudden with his attacks, but when he wanted to attack, he would increase the level to 4X, sneak in a few blows and retreat immediately. This strategy had its drawbacks, as there were several instances during the fight when Allen would back off, suspicious of a trap, giving up an advantage that would have ended it there.

In previous spars, Ojiro could count on forcing Allen into a mistake and retaliating in one game-changing blow. Now, all he could do was defend and use the aerial mobility his tail gave him to run away and launch attacks at difficult to defend angles—not that it helped, since his every attempt hit nothing but air. Thus, it was to Ojiro's great relief when the call came to switch partners after a five-minute break. He grabbed a water bottle and approached Allen, who was staring blankly at the ground while performing an exercise to get control of his breathing. "Dude…what the hell was _that_?" Ojiro asked point blank after swishing a mouthful of water and spitting it out, staining the ground with red. "You've never fought me like that before!"

"I've never gone beyond 2X with you before either." Allen replied, never averting his gaze from the earth. He was visibly frustrated at not being able to decisively finish Ojiro despite dominating the match. "And even when I did that, it was only for moments at a time. I'm faster than Iida over short distances like that and I have enhanced reaction time…how did you think it was gonna turn out?"

" _Dick…_ " Ojiro thought. "Your quirk is _scary_ good for combat," he agreed, "but that wasn't what I was talking about. My master says that you can get a good read on somebody's personality from the way they fight, but you…you were like a totally different person out there. You fought great, but you've never been so…" " _Hesitant, indecisive._ " Ojiro wanted to say, but settled on, "…cautious."

"Good." Allen replied sharply, sounding irritated. "Maybe if I had shown a little more caution back then, I wouldn't have ended up with _these_." He pointed to his scars. "Also, not to be rude or anything, but can you either stop talking or leave? I just used my quirk for nearly ten minutes straight; so, you know… _I'm tired_. It's kinda hard to get properly rested for my next match if I'm chatting away like an idiot."

Ojiro frowned at the blunt dismissal, "Dude…" he opened his mouth to say something else but shook his head and walked away to nurse his wounds before his next fight.

Allen pinched his nose as he watched Ojiro walk away. " _Damn it…he didn't deserve that…I'll have to apologize to him later...again. I seriously need to get a handle on my temper._ "

All Might rang the bell announcing the end of the rest period. "The time for rest is over, young heroes!" He announced with a hearty laugh, causing a good portion of the class to groan. "Now, now," he said, "endurance is a key trait every hero must cultivate in order to make it as a pro!" With the press of a button, the board displaying their matches updated, and Allen found himself paired up with Kirishima.

"All right!" Kirishima exclaimed, knocking his fists together with a satisfying _crack_. He walked over to Allen, and extended a friendly hand with a broad, sharp-toothed smile. "I'm looking forward to pitting my manly spirit against yours! Let's have a great match, Allen!"

Allen paused for a second, staring blankly at the offered hand and exhaled sharply out of his nose when he saw the genuinely excited expression on Kirishima's face. Allen's furrowed brow smoothed out and he relaxed, shaking his head. " _How the hell_ _do I say no to something like that?_ " He clasped the offered hand and shook it firmly, making Kirishima's grin grow even wider. "Yeah," Allen agreed smiling back, "let's do our best."

"Damn straight!" Kirishima exclaimed, "You can't call yourself a man if you gave anything less than your best!"

The two classmates made their way over to the ring where they would be fighting and waited for the bell to signal the start of the match. Allen took advantage of the extra time to switch out the padded MMA gloves for the hardened tactical gloves. Given the nature of his opponent's quirk, he wasn't worried about accidentally injuring Kirishima too badly. The sound of the bell signaled the start of the match and Kirishima immediately charged in, swinging a hardened fist in an attack so hilariously telegraphed that Allen easily dodged it without even activating his quirk. Making use of his advantageous position, Allen instinctively fired off a picture perfect left uppercut counter followed by a right cross that solidly connected with Kirishima's jaw, right on the button…and ineffectually bounced off with a loud _crack._

" _Shit!_ " Allen thought, activating 2X and quickly backpedaling away from Kirishima, who lunged at Allen in an attempt to grab hold of him. " _I knew it would be hard to hurt him, but I didn't think it would be to this extent!_ "

Kirishima grinned at the rapidly retreating Allen and jokingly knocked his fist against his chin, "Wow, you really got me good there!" He said brightly, "I actually felt that one, but it's gonna take more than that to stop me!" He lowered his center of gravity and got prepared for another charge, "Let's try that again, shall we?"

As Allen dodged Kirishima's wild, straightforward attacks, he had to admit that he was stumped about how to proceed. He wasn't worried about losing to Kirishima exactly—he could avoid telegraphed moves like that all day if he had to, even without relying on his quirk—but after what had just happened he didn't see how he could _win_ , either. Not within the time limit at least.

" _That was the kind of punch that I've only landed once or twice in the entire time I've been doing martial arts_ ," Allen thought, " _I've had dreams about landing punches that perfectly. If something like that can't knock him out, I don't know what can. The only possible way I can beat someone like him is through attrition._ " Allen felt his stomach clench up, " _Or in other words, I have to be patient."_ With that in mind, Allen's match with Kirishima became indistinguishable from a bullfight; Kirishima would blindly charge in while Allen avoided the attacks and peppered him with ineffectual blows meant to test his defenses, hoping that he could slowly wear him down. As one sided as this was, Allen wondered if this was how his father felt whenever he fought against Allen—minus the inability to knock his opponent out, of course.

They were well into the second round of their match when Kirishima lost patience with Allen's hit and run tactics. "Oi, oi, oi!" Kirishima yelled, breathing hard. He stomped his foot on the ground in frustration, "Are you just gonna keep running away like a scared little chicken, or will you stand and fight me like a man!"

Allen looked at Kirishima with a deadpan expression. "You've been tanking every shot I've given you without even flinching, if you think I'm gonna let you goad me into slugging it out with you, you're out of your damn mind."

Kirishima laughed, "Saw right through me eh? No biggie," he prepared himself for a charge, "I'm not giving up! Not until I take you down!" Kirishima let out a determined yell as he charged forward at Allen, swinging wildly but tripped over his feet and landed flat on his face in his attempt to stop when they heard the bell signifying the end of the fight. "What the hell?" Kirishima yelled from his spot on the ground. He rolled over onto his back, "We haven't decided a winner yet! I didn't even touch you once!" Kirishima grabbed his head and groaned with frustration, "AAAAGH! That was totally lame!"

Allen couldn't help but agree. If he had a fight like that at the sports festival, it would put absolutely everyone to sleep, including him—he wasn't even breathing hard. He walked over to Kirishima and extended a hand, helping him to his feet. "Try not to take this the wrong way," Allen said, "but your technique is awful. You've got one of the best close combat quirks I've ever seen, but you fight like a total amateur."

Kirishima scowled, but quickly laughed it off and nodded. "Yeah, I can't really argue with that, given these results!"

"Did you ever take any self-defense lessons before coming here?" Allen asked, though he suspected that he knew the answer already.

"Not really," Kirishima admitted, "most of my preparation was focused on strengthening my quirk as much as I could…about a year ago I could barely get hard enough to take a serious punch."

Allen raised an eyebrow—unfortunate phrasing aside, that much progress in a year of training was impressive. "Well, if you want, I can show you some basic stuff before the festival…we only have a week, so I don't know how much I'll actually be able to teach you, but some knowledge is better than nothing right?"

Kirishima clenched his fist and shut his eyes tightly to stem the joyful tears welling up in his eyes. "Taking care of your friends, even when you'll be competing against them! Damn it, you're so freaking manly, Allen!" He exclaimed loudly.

"Uhh, thanks?" Allen replied, wondering what helping someone out had to do with manliness.

Kirishima slapped Allen heartily on the back, "No, thank _you!_ I'd really appreciate it my dude! Can we work out the details during the break?"

"Yeah." Allen agreed—he wasn't tired at all from this fight, so he didn't mind. Plus, Kirishima just had a way about him that made it impossible to not like him. Even _Bakugo_ liked him, and he didn't like _anybody_. "Sure thing." The two spent the next few minutes chatting and hammering out a time when Allen could teach him during the lead up to the festival.

Allen swallowed hard when the bell signaling the end of the rest period rang and his opponent was displayed on the board. **Martin Allen VS Asui Tsuyu**. " _Well shit,_ " Allen thought as he locked eyes with the girl in question, " _this is certainly less than ideal…I'm still really uncomfortable with the idea of hitting a girl, even if it is a spar._ " In all of their combat exercises since the team battle the second day, through a combination of guile and luck, Allen had managed to avoid directly fighting against any of the girls in the class. The fact that it was _Asui_ of all people that he had to fight was just icing on the cake—he would honestly rather go a couple of rounds with All Might than ever hit Asui.

"You had better not take it easy on me Ren-chan." Asui croaked, correctly guessing the direction of Allen's thoughts as they made their way to the center of the ring. "If you fight me like you did Ochako-chan during team battle, I won't forgive you, ribbit."

Allen brow wrinkled and he took on a pained expression, "Tsu-chan, I—"

"I want to be a hero, just like you do Ren-chan." Asui said, "Refusing to fight me like you mean it in this supervised, controlled environment isn't just insulting, it's harmful. If you hold back, than I'll only be less prepared when I end up facing someone who does want to kill me, ribbit."

Allen dropped his head, unable to maintain eye contact. "I know that, Tsu-chan, I really do, but..." The bell rang, signaling the start of the match. Allen remained still, locked in place by indecision and uncertainty.

Asui's mouth curved into a slight frown, but the mildness of the expression failed to convey the depths of her anger. Luckily, she knew just how to get her feelings across and she dropped to all fours. "I guess I'll just have to change your mind the hard way, ribbit." She went on the assault, lashing out with her tongue and launching powerful flying kicks that sent a chill down Allen's spine at the thought of being hit by one of those.

"I don't want to hurt you, Tsu-chan." Allen pleaded, frantically dodging in his base state so that Asui could understand his words, "Please don't make me do this."

"You arrogant, thick-headed idiot!" Asui shouted, her was voice as flat as ever, but the volume betrayed the well of emotion behind the scathing words. She finally caught him with a tongue lash that wrapped around his leg, holding him in place long enough for her to nail Allen with a leaping kick and sending him flying, the sheer force of the blow sent him tumbling several times across the ground before he came to a stop.

He gasped desperately in an attempt to breathe; every bit of air had been forcibly expelled from his lungs with that hit. " _Holy shit that hurt!"_ Allen thought, _"Even through the armor! How the hell does a girl that small hit that hard?_ "

"There's more where that came from too! If you think you can just avoid me for the entire time without attacking, you've got another thing coming!" Asui croaked, leaping high into the air and lashing out with her powerful tongue once more.

After experiencing the strength of Asui's attacks firsthand, Allen had no choice but to take the threat seriously and activated his 4X boost in order to dodge the blindingly quick attacks. " _Fuck."_ Allen grit his teeth, using his quirk with the wind knocked out of him was possible, but incredibly taxing and painful. " _I've got to keep moving, or I'm done for…I badly misjudged this situation!"_

"Don't act like you're doing this for my sake, Ren-chan." Asui croaked, "You're only thinking about yourself! Why can't you understand my feelings even a little?" Frustrated tears welled up in her eyes and she ceased her attempts to attack him for a few moments; "I just want you to look at me like…" she swallowed, "I want you to respect me as an equal, ribbit."

Allen stopped in his tracks and looked at Asui in shock. "Tsu-chan…what are you talking about? You're one of my best friends, of course I respect you as an equal." He stepped forward with a hand extended to the emotional girl.

Taking advantage of his distracted state, Asui leapt forward and her tongue lashed out with the speed of a bullwhip, loudly cracking Allen across the face, the force of the blow made him cry out in pain and dropped him to his knees. "Don't lie to me, Ren-chan…you had no trouble attacking Midoriya-chan, even when he didn't see it coming. You had no trouble fighting Ojiro-chan just now either. You're looking down on me, just like you looked down on Ochako-chan! I have my pride too!"

Allen felt something wet running down his cheek and touched the brand on his left cheek. When he drew it away, he saw blood staining his fingertips and he began trembling as his breathing hitched harshly. She had hit him hard enough to split open the scar.

" _There's no need to fret…I've prepared a little gift for you. A little memento, to remind us of our time together._ "

Allen's face went pale, his eyes dilated and his gut churned. "My _face._ " He growled. Darkness seeped into the corners of his peripheral vision, restricting his view. The world became tinged with red.

"Ren-chan?" Asui asked, concerned with this unexpected reaction.

" _I must admit, this is strange for me…it's the first time I've done this with a fire I didn't set myself."_

"My _face!_ " He glared over in the direction of Asui with a look of such molten, murderous fury that she was frozen in place with fear. Even when he was fighting with Bakugo, she had never seen Allen look at anyone like that.

"Ren-chan I didn't mean to—"

"Shut up." Allen snarled, breathing heavily, "Just shut up. Don't talk to me right now, not if you know what's good for you." He stood up and turned around, walking out of the ring with a thunderous expression. He had to leave while he still had any vestiges of control left.

Aizawa saw Allen leaving the practice field and intercepted him, "Just where do you think you're going?"

"I'm done." Allen said flatly, "I need to leave. I need to leave _right now_."

Aizawa silently observed Allen for a moment. Allen's brow was deeply furrowed, his posture tense and rigid, and his hands were trembling as he clenched and unclenched his fists. Blood was running freely down the split scar on his face and his skin was flushed. He nodded, "Go to Recovery Girl and get that wound looked at. We're having a session after school today."

"We already had our session this week." Allen responded tightly.

"We're having another one." Aizawa said with finality, "This isn't up for debate. Now go. Don't make me come find you when school is over." Allen growled but marched off to the nurse's office as instructed. "And Allen," Aizawa called, making Allen stop in his tracks for a moment, though he didn't turn around. "Good work." Allen nodded stiffly and went on his way.

Aizawa walked over to Asui, who was still standing where Allen had left her in the middle of the ring, frozen in shock. "You okay, Asui-san?" he asked blandly.

"Ribbit." Asui nodded dumbly. She couldn't get Allen's murderous face out of her mind. "I was angry, frustrated with him, but I didn't mean to…I just wanted him to…ribbit."

Aizawa sighed; he really wasn't paid enough for this. "Martin-san will be fine," he assured her, "he's on his way to Recovery Girl to get that cut treated. In the meantime, go pair up with Bakugo-san—his partner needs a break."

It was testament to how shell-shocked and upset Asui was that she didn't even blink when she heard who she was assigned to fight against, simply making her way over to the ring and tagging out with the poor overwhelmed Koda.

"These kids are going to be the death of me," Aizawa grumbled, "I guarantee it."

 **AN: You are looking at the result of rewrite after rewrite after rewrite. I've gone over this so many times that I can't even tell if it's good or not. Anybody who is willing to beta for me would be a huge help. As always, please leave a review. Peace out, and Plus Ultra.**


	12. The Bottom of the Well (Tsuyu POV)

**AN: This chapter is going to be a deviation from the norm of the story. It is going to cover some of the events of the story from Asui's perspective instead of Allen's, as well as moments that didn't get covered at all. Next chapter will return to the main story.**

The Bottom of the Well (Tsuyu POV)

Asui Tsuyu would never forget the day that she met Allen Martin for a variety of reasons—chief among which was the fact that, personal relationships aside, the entrance exam to the premiere heroics course in the Eastern Hemisphere was the single most important event of her young life. Despite her perpetually calm face, she was a bundle of nerves as she made her way to Yuuei for the exam on that chilly April morning. She wasn't actually sure if she had slept or not; she spent most of the previous night either tossing and turning in a futile attempt to get comfortable, or staring at the ceiling, mind racing with thoughts. At one point, she threw one of the blankets over the alarm clock sitting by the bedside table so that she didn't have to see the time steadily creeping forward, making her even _more_ anxious.

Despite being still being awake when it finally happened, it was almost a relief when she heard the alarm go off. She wasn't in the habit of lying around after waking, so she got up, got ready and left her hotel to find a place where she could get a light breakfast that she hoped that she would be able to keep down.

Soon after arriving at the testing site, a nondescript looking staff member had handed her a packet of information and she found her way to her assigned seat. She was nearly 45 minutes early, so she was one of the first people to arrive. After reading through the information packet for the third time, she decided to kill the remaining time by browsing the internet and texting with her friend, Mongoose Habuko. As the minutes passed by, the auditorium gradually filled up with the excited and nervous chattering of the several thousand hopefuls looking to get into the school.

She twitched in surprise when the lights in the auditorium suddenly shut off. A spotlight lit up, illuminating none other than the voice hero, Present Mic. "All right everybody!" he exclaimed at a crazy volume, "Welcome to my live show! Can everybody say HEY!" He cupped a hand by his ear in anticipation.

The entire auditorium was dead silent, except for a single prospective student somewhere in the middle rows who jumped to his feet and let out a loud "HEY!" The sound of chairs creaking and bodies moving to stare at the single participant was sharply audible in the awkward silence that followed. Asui covered her mouth to smother a croaking laugh. The boy's response after noticing that he was the only one to respond to the call was just as entertaining, and she felt the knot of tension in her gut loosen a little.

Asui had to fight the urge to roll her eyes when an officious looking boy in glasses loudly complained about the discrepancies between the information packet and what Present Mic was telling them. She believed in paying attention to detail as much as the next person, but she also had the courtesy to wait for a person to finish explaining before asking questions. Asui once again found herself quietly laughing along with the majority of the auditorium at the byplay when the glasses boy called out the shouting boy from earlier. While the boy's indignant response to the call out was a bit more vulgar than she was really happy with, she privately agreed with the base sentiment. " _Delicate fucking sensibilities indeed._ "

Asui was lost in thought as she climbed onto the bus that would take her to the testing site, running through several possibilities in her mind as to how things could go. She was distracted from her rumination when a large foreign boy gracelessly plopped next to her on the bus, shaking her with the vibration of his bulk slamming into the seat. Despite his imposing size, his face was pale and had an expression of anxiety as he nervously tapped his foot and drummed his fingers on the support pole. After the third time of being disturbed by this, Asui had had enough.

"Could you please stop fidgeting?" She asked bluntly, "You're jostling my seat."

The boy turned to look down at her. " _Hmm,"_ she thought, " _a foreigner. That's not something that you see every day._ "

He had bright blue eyes, dirty blond hair that accentuated his exotic ancestry, and muscles that had no place on a 15-year-old body shifted visibly as he shifted his grip on the support pole and stopped his fidgeting. Asui had never been so grateful for the deadpan expression that her quirk gave her, and she began to feel a little self-conscious as he stared at her intensely for a few seconds before speaking.

"Sorry." He apologized, in accented but perfectly understandable Japanese. He hesitated for a moment, and then the floodgates opened. "I'm just a bit nervous about the test. My quirk doesn't really translate well beating robots so I don't know what I'm going to do. I'm pretty strong, but I don't think can punch through metal."

Asui simply stared at the boy for long enough that he began to look uncomfortable. She was trying to figure out why he seemed so familiar. " _That's right,_ " she realized, " _he's the one from the auditorium. I didn't get a very good look at him before."_ She touched her lip. "You aren't very smart, are you?"

The boy drew back as if he had been struck and his face clouded over. "Why would you say that?" He asked indignantly, his accent became more prominent as he grew emotional, "You've exchanged one sentence with me! How could you possibly get the impression that I'm stupid from that?"

" _You should just keep this information to myself,"_ a nasty corner of her mind whispered, " _you have enough competition as it is, it's okay to be selfish just this once!"_ Asui let out a small croak. No, she couldn't—that just wasn't who she was, and it never would be. She pulled out the information packet and explained the shut-off switches, ending the lecture with an admonition that neglecting to read the instructions for the most important test of his life was extremely foolish.

" _Aww, he's all flustered. How cute."_ Asui thought as an embarrassed flush slowly crept up the boy's neck and onto his face. She was pleasantly surprised when he sheepishly admitted to his mistake and thanked her with genuine gratitude on his face. _"Huh,_ " she thought, " _from my first impression, I would have thought that he would have gotten all defensive on me."_ She waved off his attempt to thank her. She didn't need gratitude to feel good about helping someone out.

"Well thanks anyways, Asui-san." He repeated after extracting a name from her. "Hero or not, I bet that most of the people here would have kept that information to themselves for the competitive edge. My name is Allen, by the way, Allen Martin. It's nice to meet you."

Allen extended a hand out in friendship and Asui had to swallow the slight tinge of guilt when he casually mentioned the very thought that had come to Asui only minutes before. Asui stared at the offered hand. Due to her quirk, her hands were unusually large for her size, and her skin had a slightly moist, sticky feel to it that disturbed most people, so she typically avoided handshakes and other types of physical contact as a rule. After a moment of deliberation, Asui decided to take his hand.

"Likewise." she said, grasping Allen's hand and engulfing it with her larger one. She gave it a firm shake, watching his face carefully for the usual signs of disgust or unease. Asui's traitorous heart began to beat a little faster when Allen's friendly grin didn't drop a centimeter as he shook it enthusiastically. He was the first person other than her family or Habuko to not recoil or paste on a disingenuous smile when touching her for the first time. "Call me Tsu-chan." She said. She had promised Habuko that she would make some friends and she figured that now was as good of a time as any to start.

"Tsu-chan, then." Allen agreed; his smile only widened and her heart began beating a step quicker as the faintest bit of color flooded her cheeks.

" _Hmm, being addressed by my first name is more embarrassing than I expected._ " Asui thought, going quiet for a moment. Allen took advantage of her momentary silence to begin lobbing all manner of questions at her. Where was she from? What was her quirk? Why did she want to be a hero? Who was her favorite hero? It was all she could do to keep up with the flood of conversation.

For such an obviously excitable person, he was a surprisingly good listener; it never felt like he was merely waiting his turn to say his piece, and his blue eyes seemed to bore into her as he silently took in her monotone, to-the-point responses to his questions. She was so used to generally being overlooked that receiving such undivided attention was as intoxicating as it was overwhelming.

Her responsibilities to her family as the eldest child with two working parents and keeping on top of her studies meant that she had very little experience interacting with her peers in general. Additionally, the off-putting aspects of her frog-form meant that—outside of one exception—she had practically _no_ experience talking with boys, especially not boys who were—in her opinion—as attractive as Allen. He wasn't the pretty-boy type, but he was certainly eye catching with his exotic features and tall, well-built frame.

Before she knew it, the bus taking them to the test center ground to a halt, the screeching sound of the brakes putting a swift end to the conversation. "Well," Allen said with a lopsided grin as he stood up and stretched, making his back pop loudly, "looks like the end of the line, huh? Thanks again, and good luck out there! I'll see you on the other side!"

Asui nodded, "Good luck, ribbit." She echoed, not knowing what else to say. She took a moment to stare vacantly and collect her thoughts before getting off the bus herself. " _What a weird guy._ " She thought, pressing a finger to her lip out of habit, " _Weird, but nice. I hope he makes it through._ "

Asui climbed off the bus and took her place by the gates. When the abrupt call to start the test came, she was able to get a jump on the competition by leaping clear over the tightly packed cluster of test takers, making her way down the street of the model city. As she leapt along, she saw a familiar figure zooming ahead in a literal blur of motion, outpacing the rest of them easily. When she saw him shut down six robots in the blink of an eye, Asui let out an impressed croak. "Wow, Allen's really fast." Asui said, "I better get moving too, before he takes all of the points for himself, ribbit."

Asui put Allen out of her mind as she focused on the task at hand: passing the exam. In order to keep from wasting time searching for the faux villains, Asui mainly stuck to intersections of the city where the lumbering robots would congregate. The increased room also allowed her to nimbly leap around the chaotic battlefield, shutting the machines down with quick and accurate strikes of her tongue. After about eight minutes of this, Asui had mentally calculated that by her estimation, she only needed a few more points to pass. At that moment, she heard a deafening rumble behind her and her mouth dropped open when she saw the massive zero-point robot standing several stories tall and destroying everything in its path.

"I think I'll just get those extra points somewhere else." She croaked weakly and took off in the opposite direction as fast as her legs could carry her. As she fled, she made sure to the couple of robots that happened to be in her path with her tongue, bringing her score up to a passing level. She made her way to a safer looking side street and let out a sigh of relief, relaxing her guard a little as she waited out the remainder of the test.

She heard Present Mic's announcement of "15 SECONDS!" followed by a large crash and then a sudden jolt of pain as a flying piece of rubble struck her in the side of the head, making her cry out as she slapped a large hand to staunch the bleeding wound. The edges of her vision were filled with darkness as she stumbled forward past an alleyway and fell to her knees. Only dimly aware of her surroundings, Asui heard a nearby voice cry out, followed immediately by the sickening crunch of breaking bone. Then, she was bodily tackled by a large person and slammed hard into the pavement, driving the air out of her lungs and making her cough. For about thirty seconds, Asui merely laid on the ground with whoever it was that had just tackled her sprawled on top of her. Gradually, her senses—and the ability to breathe—came back to her and she was able make sense of what had just happened.

Lying on the ground only a few feet away, was a deactivated three-point villain. On top of her, dead to the world, was none other than Allen, who had his arms wrapped tightly around her and with his head in a very compromising position. Asui's eyes narrowed marginally and her face grew hot. "Hey!" She croaked loudly, snaking an arm out of the tight embrace and roughly jostling Allen to get him to move, "You can get off of me now! Ribbit!" As much as she appreciated the obvious assist he just gave her, it still didn't give him the right to bury his face into her chest for nearly a minute after the fact.

However, her embarrassment and feminine outrage quickly morphed into concern when she realized that Allen wasn't responding to her attempts to remove him at all. As gently as she could, she wriggled her way out from under his dead weight and using her tongue, she rolled him onto his back and cradled his head in her lap. She quickly made use of the limited first aid knowledge that she had, checking his heart rate and his breathing. She let out a relieved croak when she felt his heart hammering away in his chest, but frowned at the hitched irregular rise and fall of his chest.

"I need some help over here!" She called out as loudly as she could, hoping to catch someone's attention. "I think he's hurt!"

Luckily, it didn't take long for two pairs of robots bearing stretchers to make their way to the scene. One of the robotic medical teams loaded the unconscious boy onto a stretcher while the other pair approached Asui and an elderly feminine voice came out of one of them. "Thank you for looking after him, Examinee No. 5466," it said to Asui, "we've got him from here! Please get on to the stretcher so that we can take care of you as well!"

Asui shook her head, "I'm fine," she replied, "it's just a scratch, ribbit."

The voice coming out of the robot tutted. "I'll be the judge of that." It said before pointing to the slowly seeping wound on Asui's head. "Head wounds like that can be tricky, so I need to give you a thorough examination before we can allow you to leave."

Asui let out a resigned croak. She absolutely despised being a bother, and she wanted nothing more than to go back to her hotel and take a long hot bath, but it seemed like she had little choice in the matter. "Ribbit." She croaked as she grudgingly climbed onto the stretcher.

"Good girl." The voice approved, "I'll have you taken care of in a jiffy, you'll see!"

(A brief time later)

"Well," Recovery Girl said with a smile, "it seems like you lucked out. You had a minor concussion from that blow to the head, as well as a few minor scrapes and bruises, but I don't predict any long-term effects. If you don't have any questions for me, you're free to go."

Asui paused. "How is Allen…I mean, how is the boy I came in with?" She asked, shooting a glance over at a nearby bed obscured by a privacy curtain. She kept her voice low and neutral. "I think he got hurt helping me, so I just wanted to make sure he's okay, ribbit."

Recovery Girl smiled kindly at the frog-like girl. "He has a quite a few injuries, but nothing life threatening." she replied, "After a bit of rest, he'll be just fine, don't you worry about that!"

Asui gave the elderly doctor a respectful bow. "Thank you." She croaked. Asui turned to walk out the door, but not before giving one last backward glance at the spot where Allen lay sleeping. " _I really hope he got in."_ She thought wistfully as she walked out of the office.

Later, while she was leisurely soaking in the tub, Asui caught herself idly daydreaming about being in the same class with Allen, and she felt her face grow a little hot. " _Cut it out,_ " she reprimanded herself, " _stop reading into something that isn't there, Tsuyu!_ "

She climbed out of the bath, wrapped a towel around herself and wiped the condensation off of the fogged up mirror. The corners of her mouth dipped downwards slightly as she took in her appearance. She _could_ stand up straight if she really focused on it, but her posture was slightly hunched thanks to her higher center of gravity. Her figure wasn't bad, but her skin gave off a soft oily sheen that made her look perpetually moist. Her hands were outsized for her body type, and were bigger than many men who were twice her size. Her mouth was unusually wide, stretching nearly from the edge of one cheek to the other. Her eyes were just _slightly_ too far apart for her liking and the distribution of muscles in her face made it difficult to express any real range of emotions.

"Someone like that wouldn't be interested in you, ribbit. He's just being nice." She told her reflection, filling the empty room with the sound of her monotone voice. "Remember what happened last time? Just give it up before you make a fool of yourself again." Asui turned away from the mirror and grabbed another towel to begin drying her hair. Once she finished she exited the bathroom, put on the pair of lily pad pajamas her father had gotten her as a joke, and plopped down onto the bed face first. " _Besides,_ " she thought, rolling over to stare at the ceiling, " _there's no point in worrying about it. Even IF he gets in, there's no guarantee that he'll be in my class."_

SEMPER FAST

Asui was sitting at her desk chatting with her neighbor, a pink-skinned girl named Ashido Mina. She wasn't quite sure what to make of the girl—she was loud, exhaustingly energetic, and had a figure that Asui would kill for, but she was also so outgoing and friendly that Asui couldn't help but like her. Asui was in the middle of answering one of Ashido's questions when she was cut off in mid-sentence by a sudden eruption of noise on the opposite side of the room.

"Don't put your feet up on the desk! Don't you think that's disrespectful towards your classmates?" Asui stared at the disruption, trying to place the loud, obnoxious busybody who was lecturing the loud, obnoxious asshole.

" _He's the one who called out Allen at the auditorium._ " She realized, following him with her vision as he visibly perked up and quickly strode across the room to the entrance to speak with a plain-looking boy with green-tinted hair. This didn't particularly interest her, but the person standing next to the boy did—it was Allen. Asui went very still at the sight of him; her cheeks took the slightest hint of red as she let out a tiny croak of surprise.

"Tsuyu-chan?" Ashido said, "You still with us?"

The glasses busybody—Iida was his name—looked personally offended by Allen's presence, drawing himself up to his full height and gesticulating wildly. "You on the other hand…I remember you! I cannot believe someone so flippantly vulgar passed the exam! It's disgraceful!"

"Tsuyu-chan? Hellooooooo?" Asui blinked when Ashido waved a hand in front of her face. Apparently she had zoned out mid-conversation while she had been staring.

"Sorry Mina-chan." Asui apologized. "I got distracted by the noise, ribbit."

Ashido turned her head to where Asui had been staring, then looked at Asui, and then looked back over at the entrance, then back at Asui again. When she saw the very minute blush on Asui's cheeks, Ashido's dark eyes narrowed and a canny expression appeared on her face. "Oh?" She drawled out teasingly, "Are you suuure it was just the noise that was distracting you?"

Asui's heart began beating faster and she let out an annoyed croak, "That's what I said isn't it?"

"Hmm," Ashido put a finger to her chin in a teasing imitation of Asui, "you sure that you weren't distracted by the boys over there?" She leaned in with a smirk like a cat that just ate the canary and whispered dramatically, "Which one is it, huh? Is it Megane-kun? Despite his attitude, he's pretty built. Or maybe Gaijin-kun over there is more your taste?" She didn't mention the other boy standing there because despite the attention he was receiving from Iida, to Ashido he looked like the textbook definition of plain; a person so inoffensively bland that if life were a manga, the artist wouldn't even bother drawing their face.

Asui's poker face was impeccable. "As if, ribbit." She replied, "I'm not interested in stuff like that." This was true, in a manner of speaking. It would be more accurate to say that she didn't have much confidence in that area, so she preferred not to think about it if she could help it. "I just recognized that foreign boy from the entrance exam."

Ashido blew a raspberry. "Ehhh, how boring!" She complained, "I was counting on you, Tsuyu-chan! Who else am I going to talk to about boys? The ice-princess over there?" She cocked her head over in the direction of Yaoyorozu Momo, who sat primly in her seat with her hands folded in her lap and a cool, imperious expression on her face, occasionally glancing around the room at her classmates with detached curiosity. "Or maybe I'll talk to her? I'm sure she's just brimming with interest in the subject?" She indicated over to Kyoka Jirou, who sat at her desk with her chin resting on her forearms and a serious case of resting bitch face.

"Sorry to disappoint." Asui said, "I'm not sure why _I'm_ the one you would turn to for this, though."  
Ashido pinched Asui's cheek, "Because you're just so darn cuuuuuute!"

" _Cute?_ " Asui thought, " _Yeah right._ " She swatted Ashido's hand away, "Don't do that." Asui croaked, "I don't like being touched without permission."

"Sooooorry!" Ashido apologized with a saucy grin and her hands pressed together, "I just can't help it! You're so adorable that I just want to take you home with me!"

The arrival of their new homeroom teacher seemed like something out of a comedy routine. He showed up out of nowhere, lying on the ground in a sleeping bag and made a speech about how they were all irrational. Asui wondered what was rational about sleeping on the floor of a school, but kept that to herself. No need to upset the person in charge of them for the next three years after all. Allen raised his hand.

"What is it?" Aizawa-sensei asked, sounding irritated that someone would interrupt the mood he was trying to establish with a question.

The entire class turned to look at Allen, who slowly lowered his hand. "…So, did you put that thing on outside the door to make a dramatic entrance, or did you like, roll here, or crawl like a worm or something?"

About half of the class—Asui included—managed to choke down their laughter, the rest didn't even bother trying as they began cracking up at the question that had so thoroughly shattered their shabby teacher's mystique. For a second, Asui worried for Allen's physical well-being when Aizawa appeared to do his best to stare a hole through the boy's head. After a few seconds of attempted murder via eye contact, their new teacher pulled a PE uniform out of his bag and told them to get changed and make their way to a training ground.

The class made their way over to the series of cubbyholes where they were supposed to put their things and pulled their fitted PE uniforms out. Asui walked up behind Allen. She had wanted to express her gratitude for what happened since the exam. "I'm glad you managed to pass after all," she croaked, "it seems I have you to thank for helping me after my slip up during the exams."

At the sound of her voice, Allen turned around and Asui felt her mood improve just from the sheer delight on his face when he laid eyes on her. "Asui-san!" He cheered.

"Tsu-chan." she reminded him. There was no way she was going to let him be so formal now. Not after everything that had happened.

"Tsu-chan." he agreed, getting visibly jazzed up. "You're in this class too! That's awesome! How you been?"

She stared at him for a moment. "I'm fine. Just wanted to say hi before we got outside and got too busy. Who knows what Aizawa-sensei is going to have us do?" " _He definitely looked pissed off because of you._ " went unsaid.

A confident grin slipped onto Allen's face, "Yeah, right? He's definitely a little, uh…"

"He's weird." Asui interjected, and Allen choked with surprised laughter. "But he's still a pro, so I'm sure he knows what he's doing. I'm going to go change."

"Right," Allen replied, "see you outside."

Asui grabbed her stuff and made her way to the locker room. She didn't like the way that Ashido was eyeing her following her brief conversation with Allen and braced herself for a particularly irritating conversation/interrogation.

"Tsuyuuuu-chan!" Ashido crooned the moment the locker room door closed behind her, "You lied to meeeee!" She pouted playfully. "And here I thought we were friends!"

"I did no such thing, ribbit. " Asui replied flatly. She was not in the mood to discuss this with someone she had just met. She didn't even discuss her love life with her mother on the rare occasions that she was around.

Ashido put her hands on her hips and leant forward with her eyes narrowed. "Don't give me that," she accused, "You couldn't take your eyes off of Gaijin-kun, you barely even blinked!"

Only half-listening, Asui had to suppress the sudden burst of envy that this action generated—at the moment, Ashido wasn't wearing a shirt, and her current posture only accentuated how physically…gifted she was. " _It's not like I'm small either,_ " Asui thought as she snuck a quick look down at her own chest, before looking at Ashido's again, " _but is she really fifteen?_ " She also snuck a quick look over at Yaoyorozu, who was silently changing in the corner, all the while looking like a photoshopped gravure model. " _That just doesn't look natural._ "

"Tsuyu-chaaaan," Ashido whined, "are you even listening to me?"

"Not really." Asui admitted, "But let me know when you have something worth listening to, ribbit." At that blunt statement, Yaoyorozu daintily covered her smirk with a hand, and Jirou and Uraraka snorted with laughter while Ashido looked crestfallen.

"Tsu-chan…you've got a deceptively sharp tongue behind that innocent face of yours, you know." Ashido mumbled. Asui could practically see the storm cloud over her head.

Asui nodded, "So I've been told, ribbit. Almost 20 meters of it in fact."

"20 meters!" Uraraka marveled, "No way, that's so cool! Where does it all go when it's not out?"

"In my mouth." Asui replied; she got this question almost every time her quirk was discussed, and frankly, it got pretty old after a while. "Where does your tongue go?"

Uraraka flushed, "Well…yeah…but 20 meters is a bit..."

Asui let out a tiny sigh and opened her mouth wide for them to see—better that she satisfy their curiosity now, rather than let them speculate unflattering things behind her back like what had happened at her previous school. Everybody—even Yaoyorozu, surprisingly—took the chance to examine her tongue. It was very wide and flat, taking up the entire bottom portion of her already large mouth, and it was attached at the front rather than the back, but other than that, her tongue didn't look much different than anybody else's. "Satisfied?" she croaked.

The rest of the girls nodded and stepped away, Asui smiled a bit, feeling secure in the fact that the romantic topic had been successfully avoided. "You still never answered my question Tsuyu-chan!"

Asui's smile dropped. " _Damn it."_ "I don't know what you want from me," She said, only those who were very familiar with her would have been able to detect the irritation hidden in her voice. "I met him at the entrance exam. I exchanged two sentences with him. Are you really that desperate for a school love story, ribbit?"

"YES!" Ashido loudly replied, "I'm a sailor Tsuyu-chan! I see people, I ship them, it's how I survive this drab world we live in. There are only four of us girls in this class! You _have_ to give me this!"

"That's really lame." Jirou cut in with a wicked glare, looking disgusted by the whole affair. "Go read some shojo manga if you want a love story. Asui's business is her own."

Ashido stuck her tongue out and blew a raspberry at the rocker girl and Asui shot her a thankful look. At that moment, something passed between them. " _A fellow_ _comrade in unpopularity_?"

"Whatever the case," Yaoyorozu cut in, "now is not the time for idle gossip. We should be heading out to the field like sensei instructed. I do not wish to keep everybody else waiting for such a trivial reason."

"Yeah, yeah," Ashido waved her hand flippantly, "don't get your panties in a twist there, princess. We're coming."

"Who's this _we_ you're referring to Ashido?" Jirou said, "You're the only one not wearing a shirt still."

For Asui, the quirk apprehension tests were informative in several ways. Her 13th place finish in the class was more disappointing than she had hoped, but she wasn't too upset with it either after witnessing some of the quirks and abilities of her peers. Ashido for example, turned out to be freakishly athletic, and was even physically stronger and faster than many of the boys, taking 9th place over all.

She had seen a little of what he was capable of during the entrance exam, but the sheer speed that Allen could move with was astounding. From just his build alone, Asui had suspected that Allen was a natural athlete, but the reality of the situation was even greater than she had expected. With the exception of Yaoyorozu, who simply made machines that blew everybody else's natural abilities out of the water—which personally, Asui felt was practically cheating—Allen's all-purpose quirk allowed him to achieve incredible scores on almost every test, beating everybody whose quirk wasn't uniquely suited to that task.

She learned a little more about her teacher, the pro hero: Eraserhead. Like, for instance, that there _was_ a pro hero named Eraserhead. The timid, plain-looking boy who seemed to be good friends with Allen—an unlikely pair if Asui had ever seen one—said that he was an underground figure that hated dealing with the press, but she would have thought that she would have heard _something_ about a hero with as powerful of an ability as erasing quirks.

Also, while she did honestly expect it, and even thought that she had prepared herself mentally for it, Asui felt her heart constrict slightly at the sight of Allen approaching Yaoyorozu with a love-sick expression on his face. Looking at the standoffish, cold reception that the stunningly beautiful girl gave him, the roiling, conflicting emotions inside her only got worse.

" _Why is this bothering me so much?_ " She asked herself, " _I don't like him. I barely even know him! Sure, he's good looking and he was nice to me, but I've only talked to him for like ten minutes!_ "

In her heart though, she knew the answer. She was jealous. Watching someone like Yaoyorozu—who had everything, a born and bred elite—treat the attention of someone Asui was even superficially attracted to like a nuisance was frustrating.

During lunch, Allen got Asui's heart pounding again when he casually approached her table and asked her for her phone number. "What?" she asked, surprised by the request. "What do you want my phone number for, ribbit?"

Allen gave her an odd look. "What kind of question is that? So we can keep in touch, of course. And meme." He added as an afterthought, "Can't forget about the memes." He shot her a teasing grin, "You know Tsu-chan, that doesn't seem like the kind of question a smart person would ask."

Asui let out an amused croak, "Maybe not," she replied, "but I'm still smarter than you, so if I'm dumb than it doesn't look good for you, either."

Allen chuckled. "Ouch." He handed his phone over to Asui, the screen for a new contact already open. "Here you go." Asui took the phone gingerly and filled the fields with her info. She was proud that despite being her first time sharing her contact info with a boy; her fingers did not tremble at all. When she handed the phone back over, Allen thanked her with a grin and immediately sent her a text with his information as well.

The rest of the day passed by in a blur and in the wake of several other events— like learning that _All Might_ of all people would be teaching them the next day—Asui completely forgot that she had given Allen her number. When her phone let out a chime shortly after school had ended, she thought that it was either Habuko or one of her parents, and let out surprised croak, nearly dropping the phone when she realized that the message had come from Allen.

Martin Allen

Sent Mon, 16:24

Hey Tsu-chan! Rly glad we r classmates!

Can't wait 4 tomorrow with All Might!

I kinda wish I was n the dorms, like u.

This commute rly sucks! How r they btw?

Asui stared blankly at the message in shock. A boy had texted her. A _boy_ had texted _her_! A million thoughts were running through her head, and she spent a good five minutes writing and rewriting a response before she gave up. " _I need to consult someone about this._ " Unbidden, Ashido's grinning face popped into her mind and Asui emphatically shook her head. "No way, ribbit." She said aloud, "She might have some advice, but I'd never hear the end of it." Typing quickly, she fired off a message to Habuko explaining the situation and asking for her input. The response was almost immediate.

Mongoose Habuko

Sent Mon, 16:31

What the hell! You've been at UA for one day and

you've already got boys texting you!

Way to go Tsuyu! ;) As glad as I am that you

told me, I don't know what to say other than

be yourself. Pretend he's me if you have to. Good luck!

"Be myself? Ribbit." Asui put a finger to her lip, "That's so cliché, Habuko-chan." Her fingers blurred into motion and she fired off a response thanking Habuko for her advice before returning to Allen's message and staring at it for a little while longer.

Asui Tsuyu

Sent Mon, 16:35

I'm excited too. Learning from the #1 hero

should be a great experience. The dorms are nice.

It makes getting to class on time easier too.

Thus began a back and forth exchange of messages that Asui found shockingly easy to keep up with once the novelty of talking to a member of the opposite sex wore off. For most of the night, Asui sat at her desk studying, occasionally breaking up the monotony of reviewing English vocabulary or practicing math problems by firing off a quick text or two. It was…nice. Even before making friends, she had never been lonely—she had her family duties and hero studies to keep her busy. Still, Asui could say without a doubt that even if she hadn't been unhappy, she had definitely been missing out. She went to bed that night with a warm glow in her chest, her spirits buttressed by her blossoming friendship.

SEMPER FAST

Although she often gave the impression of being cold and formal, Asui found that Yaoyorozu Momo was actually a very sweet, earnest person. She had run into the recommended student on the way to class the morning after the trial of battle and got a chance to really chat with her for the first time. Asui was greatly amused at the front that Momo tried to put on when it was quite clear that despite her prodigious intelligence and mature aura, she was still a typical teenage girl down to her core—especially in her ill-disguised love of gossip and drama.

At the moment, there was no bit of gossip juicier than the scene that had gone down between Allen, Bakugo, Midoriya and Uraraka during their mock battle. The opinions in the class were split on the matter. The majority blamed Bakugo for airing Midoriya's feelings in a successful attempt at rattling them. A sizable portion blamed Allen for making a plan centered on that knowledge, and for revealing it to Bakugo in the first place because—even two days into the term—it should be obvious that telling someone like Bakugo such personal and sensitive information about someone he clearly held in contempt was a _bad_ idea. Then of course there were the outlying members of the class who didn't care one way or the other.

Asui found herself sucked into the middle of it all, as she had apparently been appointed as the class sounding board for several of the students. Uraraka had called her the night before and shared all of the details of what had gone down, what she was feeling, what she thought _Midoriya_ was feeling, what she thought about Allen's role in the situation, what she thought about _Bakugo's_ role in the situation, going on and on until Asui finally had to interrupt and bluntly tell her that she needed to do her homework before it got too late.

As Asui walked and talked with Yaoyorozu, it became clear that she fell into the "blame Allen" camp, though she was mostly angry with how he had looked down on Uraraka than invested in the relationship drama. Asui herself was conflicted. There were several aspects of how Allen handled the situation that she wasn't happy with, but she didn't think that someone who would injure themselves trying to save someone they had only talked to for a few minutes on a bus would be the kind of person to intentionally throw a friend under the bus for an ultimately pointless victory.

"Good morning ladies!" A cheerful, accented voice called out in greeting behind them, "I hope you're doing well today!" Asui and Yaoyorozu stopped in their tracks and looked back to see Allen approaching them at a quick walk that was just short of a jog. He had a grin on his face, but it didn't quite reach his eyes, which had faint dark circles underneath them.

Asui saw Yaoyorozu's eyes narrow and body tense up. "Martin-san." The girl stiffly replied, cold hostility oozing from every pore.

"Um…" Allen said, looking distraught by the cold reception being sent his way. "Did I do something to upset you? You're looking at me like I kicked a puppy or something."

Asui found the comparison surprisingly apt. She thought that the interactions between Uraraka and the painfully shy Midoriya to be nearly the same level of adorable. "Ochako-chan told us about what happened." She said, "Not very nice, trying to sic someone like Bakugo on her. Or humiliating her by toying with her." Asui watched Allen very carefully, as attracted to him as she was—she could admit that to herself at this point even if she wouldn't admit it to anyone else—how he handled himself in the next few moments would be critical for her opinion of him.

Allen's face paled and he grimaced like he had just swallowed something very bitter. After a few seconds, his eyes narrowed and he drew himself up indignantly, justifying his logic at the time. While he was actually making fairly reasonable points that she and Yaoyorozu both acknowledged as legitimate, Asui was disappointed in his apparent unwillingness to accept responsibility. Asui glanced at Yaoyorozu out of the corner of her eye. It looked like she felt the same way.

Then Allen said something that changed everything. "Look," he added after explaining himself, "if I could go back and do it differently, I would. I would rather have lost than had it turn out the way it did." The girls' eyes widened at the sight of Allen slumping over, looking like a shadow of the positive and confident guy he normally was. "My best friend is pissed at me, the first girl I've ever seen treat him like he was worth the air he breathes is avoiding him, and now a good portion of the class thinks that I'm as big of a scumbag as Bakugo!"

He looked miserable, and Asui couldn't help but instantly forgive him. She reached out and patted him on the arm. "I know you aren't a scumbag Ren-chan," She consoled him; "a scumbag wouldn't get themselves hurt saving me during the entrance exam." The nickname snuck out of her mouth involuntarily—Allen's name was difficult enough to pronounce in Japanese and the structure of Asui mouth made it even more so—her heart began racing when she saw Allen blink at the extremely familiar form of address and the corners of his mouth twitched upwards. If it bothered him at all, he didn't say anything.

Yaoyorozu sighed, and looked away. Asui felt a brief burst of irritation when she crossed her arms under her chest making it stand out even more. "I suppose I judged you too harshly without hearing the full story, Martin-san. I don't believe that you had malicious intent, merely bad judgment."

Allen flinched at this, looking oddly resigned. "Thanks for hearing me out," he said after a moment's pause, "I have a favor to ask you both…could you please speak to Uraraka-san for me? I'd like to talk with her today in private and fix this if I can."

Asui and Yaoyorozu exchanged an incredulous look that wordlessly asked: " _Does he really think he can just fix this with a conversation right after it happened?_ " The two girls proceeded to convince him that seeking out Uraraka so soon after her humiliating defeat wouldn't be best. However, they also promised Allen that they would speak to her for him, and Asui felt a warm glow at the heartfelt appreciation he gave them.

SEMPER FAST

"Ochako-chan." Asui called out to the retreating form of the gravity user after the school day had ended. "Can I talk to you for a minute?" It had been a crazy day. Between the excitement of the class elections and the chaos caused by the invasion of the press onto school grounds, Asui had never gotten a chance to speak to her like she had promised.

"Sure thing Tsu-chan!" Uraraka responded with an easygoing smile. "What'cha got on yer mind?"

"Midoriya-chan." Asui said bluntly, wiping the smile off of Uraraka's cute face just as quickly as it had appeared.

"There ain't anythin' ta say 'bout that." Uraraka replied, her already flushed cheeks got even darker and her accent thickened as she grew flustered. "I already done told ya that I don't feel th' same way is all. End a story."

Asui stared the girl down. "That's fine." She said. "Nobody is telling you what you have to feel, but you shouldn't avoid him over this. It's not like he confessed or anything—he just got outed for a crush that was pretty obvious in the first place. You can't tell me that you didn't notice the way he lit up like a Christmas tree every time he spoke to you, ribbit."

Uraraka giggled despite herself, "Yeah, he was pretty transparent." She paused, fidgeting. "But…it's jus'…I could pretend not ta notice it before, but havin' it out in th' open like this…it's kinda awkward. S'like there's an elephant in th' room every time we see each other." Uraraka went silent for a second, then looked at Asui suspiciously, "Why're ya talkin' ta me 'bout this in th' first place?"

"Ren-chan asked me to, ribbit." Asui admitted freely.

She ignored Uraraka mouth "Ren-chan?" silently.

"He's really upset about how this whole thing turned out. He said that he would have rather have lost if he knew it would turn out this way."

Uraraka crossed her arms and looked away angrily when she realized who Asui was referring to. "Oh yeah," she retorted, "well that's too bad for him! Maybe he should a considered that 'fore plannin' on usin' me or his friend's feelin's like that! And if he feels so bad 'bout it, he can come an tell me himself!"

"He wanted to, ribbit." Asui clarified, "I told him not to."  
Uraraka blinked, and tilted her head slightly in confusion. "Why?"

"Because you're still angry and probably wouldn't listen to anything he says."

Uraraka had the good grace to look sheepish at that. "Yeah," she chuckled humorlessly, "Prolly not." She kicked at the ground. "What else he wanna say?"

"That Midoriya-chan would never pressure you over his feelings. That if he had his way you never would have found out in the first place. That he was perfectly happy just being friends."

Uraraka was silent and still as she took this all in. "Okay." She said.

"Okay?" Asui repeated. "What's okay?"

"I'll stop avoidin' him."

Asui blinked. " _That seemed a little too easy._ "

"But I'll need a little time." Uraraka blushed, "This whole thing's still kinda embarrassin', ya know?"

" _Ah, there it is._ " Asui nodded. "That's fair, ribbit." A sudden impulse overcame her. "Do you want to come hang out with me at the dorm? We can study a bit, and I'll make dinner, ribbit."

Uraraka pressed her fingertips together and smiled widely. "Sure!" She agreed, "I have trouble studyin' on my own anyways!" She grinned sheepishly rubbed the back of her head. "I tend ta get distracted unless there's someone ta keep me focused, he he."

As the two girls set off in the direction of the dorms, Asui got a text and it was all she could do to keep from letting out a loud sigh when she saw its contents.

Martin Allen

Sent Wed, 15:17

Tsu-chan! Midoriya won't answer me X(

He's always answerd me b4. I think he's

Rly mad this time!

Asui let out a small breath. This whole situation wasn't her problem at all and yet she felt like she was getting pulled in 12 directions at once trying to solve it. How on earth did she get herself into this mess? She quickly typed her response.

Asui Tsuyu

Sent Wed, 15:18

Sorry. What do you expect me to do about it?

I'm talking to Ochako-chan RN like you asked.

This isn't something that fixes itself in a day.

Give him time to cool off. Hanging out with her now, so

I'll text you when I'm free. Don't contact me until then.

Asui muted and put away her phone before apologizing to Uraraka. One of her biggest pet peeves was when people were on their phones while they were with her. She found it disrespectful, so she didn't like doing it to anybody else. A few hours later, Asui bid farewell to Uraraka and checked her phone once more and was unsurprised to see a handful of missed texts from Allen, most of which were asking if she was free to talk yet.

" _For such a big blustery guy, he's surprisingly needy isn't he?_ " Rather than being annoyed, she found it surprisingly endearing. It was sometimes a pain, but Asui enjoyed being relied on. It was an aspect of her personality that was a big part of her desire to become a hero. She liked to help. Deciding that she didn't want to spend the whole evening typing, she dialed his number, put the phone on speaker and set it on her desk, listening to it ring on his end of the line.

"Tsu-chan?" Allen's voice came out of the phone, "Hello?"

"So Ren-chan, what was so important that you needed to keep texting me even though I asked you not to, ribbit? I hope it isn't just because you were bored."

The heavy silence coming from Allen's end of the line spoke volumes. Asui could practically see the sheepish look on his face. "Uh…yeah, ha ha."

"Whatever, ribbit." Asui said, "It doesn't matter now. What's up?"

"Nothing much in particular." Allen replied, "Just got my ass beat like a rug in a spar with my dad…normally I bitch about it to Midoriya, but…"

"So you openly acknowledge that you're just whining about it, ribbit?" Asui asked, amused. "That's not very manly, Ren-chan."

"Hey!" Allen retorted, "You've never seen the kind of beating my dad lays on me! If I didn't get a chance to vent about it, I'd go nuts!" He lowered his voice, "And if I complained in front of him, he'd be even harder on me! I'm telling you, the man is a sadist!"

"Ribbit. Sounds like a personal problem to me." The corners of Asui's mouth twitched slightly at the sound of Allen's playfully irritated response, and she wondered if she might have some sadistic tendencies herself, because she took far too much pleasure in winding the excitable boy up.

The more she interacted with Allen, the more the initial luster of his striking looks and heroic actions wore off. He had flaws, a lot of them, but Asui enjoyed interacting with him nonetheless. The two talked for nearly two hours before reluctantly bidding each other good night.

Asui put on her pajamas and walked to the bathroom to brush her teeth and get ready for bed. The warm feeling in her chest crashed and burned when she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror and reality reared its ugly head. She was morose as she brushed her teeth, and let out a heavy sigh when she got back to her room and plugged her nearly dead phone into the outlet. " _Don't bother_." She told herself. " _You've already know who he's looking at. It isn't you."_

SEMPER FAST

Asui felt the air rush out of her like she had been struck when Allen walked into the classroom half an hour late on the Monday following the villain invasion at USJ. While she had been in a tight spot herself—very nearly dying at the murderous hands of Shigaraki Tomura—she had come out of the experience relatively unscathed thanks to the quick thinking of Midoriya and Aizawa-sensei. Allen had not responded to any of her attempts to reach him in the days after the attack, but from the rumors flying around, she knew that Allen had not been as lucky as her. Apparently, he and Ojiro had the misfortune of running into a notorious serial killer and arsonist and they had both been injured.

However, knowing that he had been hurt and seeing the bright red scars on his face were two very different things, hence her reaction. Judging from the whispers going around the room, nobody else had been aware of the new additions to his look either. Asui's eyes widened at Allen's casual reference to Aizawa-sensei's grievous injuries and his nonchalant acceptance of the assigned detention. She knew that Allen could be flippant and even insensitive at times, but he wasn't the kind of person to so deliberately bring up an obviously sore subject as a personal dig.

Asui's notebook—normally so meticulously and neatly filled with information for later review—sat untouched throughout the rest of the classes up till lunch; her chin was in her hands as she leaned forward onto her desk and observed Allen out of the corner of her eye. His behavior was stilted and robotic, his face, voice and motions were devoid of the liveliness and restless enthusiasm that she associated with him. The worst were his eyes though; his blue eyes—normally sparkling with humor and optimism—were steely, cold and empty. A couple of times, he glanced over in her direction as if he could feel her gaze upon him, but he always looked away before they could establish eye contact.

When the chime for lunch came, Asui saw his shoulders tense up. He looked like he was preparing for an incoming blow—and when he walked into the cafeteria, away from the prying ears of teachers who could chastise them; Asui realized that in a way, he had as their classmates descended on him with a deluge of platitudes and questions. Asui didn't have to be an expert in reading people to see how this was affecting him as his face became more and more guarded.

She gave Midoriya a significant look, and he nodded in understanding at her wordless exchange. She plopped down into the seat next to him and patted Allen on the arm. He startled at the unexpected contact and peered down at her with a wary gaze, but visibly relaxed when she stared back up into his eyes with an unblinking gaze and silently shook her head. " _I don't know what I can say to make you feel better, but you don't have to talk if you don't want to._ "

Allen laid his hand on her shoulder, so light and brief that it went unnoticed by anyone else. " _Thank you_." The gesture said. The two ate their lunch in silence while a couple of others chased off anyone else who wanted to pester him with questions.

The rest of the day passed by until at last the final bell rang. Eager to get home and away from what appeared to be an angry Aizawa-sensei lurking in the corner, the majority of 1-A booked it out of the classroom as fast as their young feet could carry them until there was nobody left but Allen and Midoriya's friends. Also Ojiro, which confused Asui at first until she remembered that he had been with Allen when the students had been separated.

Aizawa's face was unreadable beneath the bandages as he stared at the group of teenagers surrounding Allen. "The rest of you, get out." He ordered, "This is going to be a private talk between the two of us."

"Sensei, I really think that—"

"U-um, A-Allen is—"

Midoriya and Ojiro began speaking at the same time in defense of Allen, but they were cut off by the cold and direct voice of Aizawa. He was using the same no-nonsense tone that he used to give orders back at the USJ—a tone which brooked no discussion or debate. "This is not up for debate. I appreciate what you're trying to do, but I'm not going to eat him. _Get. Out_."

Asui had to suppress a brief surge of disgust when Uraraka and Iida caved immediately, saying that they'd wait for them as they beat a hasty retreat. " _Although,_ " she reminded herself, " _they were probably here more for Midoriya's sake than Ren-chan's._ "

Ojiro stood his ground valiantly at first, but crumbled under the force of Aizawa's intimidating glare. Midoriya was quaking in his boots, but held firm. As for Asui, she wasn't even looking at her teacher at the moment; her gaze was firmly focused on Allen.

"Go." Allen told them. "I can take care of myself."

Midoriya's eyes widened and he glanced back and forth between Aizawa and Allen. "A-are you sure, Allen?" He asked.

Asui watched as Midoriya left the room with his head hanging low with helpless frustration when Allen confirmed his desire to deal with the situation alone, only pausing to give one final backwards glance. Now the last straggler in the room, Asui felt the weight of both Aizawa and Allen's attention on her, so she merely patted Allen gently on the shoulder and left the room.

Her face was unreadable as she passed over the threshold and shut the door behind her. Despite this, she felt just as frustrated as Midoriya looked. " _I couldn't do anything for him._ " She thought morosely as she put her school slippers into her shoe locker and put on her regular footwear.

"H-Hey Asui-san." Midoriya stammered, surprising her when she walked out of the front doors. He was sitting on a nearby bench, apparently he had elected to ignore Allen's request to go on without him. "Thanks for all of your help today."

"Call me Tsu-chan, ribbit." She absently corrected him before realizing what he had said. "What do you mean Midoriya-chan? I couldn't do anything for him. I didn't know what to say or do; so I just sat there like an idiot." A patina of frustration and irritation slipped into her voice, and Midoriya's eyes widened. Even during the invasion, her voice had never shown any hint of worry or fear.

He was silent for a moment, "I…I don't think that there was anything that you could say that would go well…Allen would hate to hear this, but he's a lot like Kacchan. He's really prideful…he reacts to sympathy like it's an insult. I messed up earlier today because I forgot that." He looked at her with an expression of pure gratitude and bowed, "What you did today, how you handled it…I think that's exactly what he needed…so thanks."

A small flush came to Asui's cheeks and her heart began thumping a little faster. "Stop that," she croaked, "you're embarrassing me and yourself, ribbit."

"O-oh, s-sorry!" he apologized, cheeks turning red.

"Don't worry about it, ribbit." Asui waved him off, "Ren-chan is my friend too, it's the least I could do."

SEMPER FAST

After nearly three weeks of incessant poking and prodding, Ashido had finally cracked Asui while they were hanging out together at her dorm. "Fine!" Asui snapped in a fit of irritation, "I like him, ribbit. Will you finally drop it now?" Her stomach dropped. She did not mean to say that, and Ashido's victorious grin filled her dread.

"I knew it!" Ashido crowed, "I am the love master!"

"Dream on." Asui croaked—hopefully there was a way to backtrack and get her out of the hole she had just dug herself. "I'm just saying what you want to hear because you refuse to leave the subject alone."

"Tsuyu, Tsuyu, Tsuyu." Ashido repeated patronizingly from her spot on Asui's bed. "You don't expect me to believe that do you?" She picked up a large stuffed frog plushy that had been given to Asui as a gift several years ago and squeezed it tightly, "You wuuuuuuuuuuv him!"

Asui felt like throwing up. "Let go of Gama-chan." She ordered, "I think I've had enough of hanging out for today, ribbit."

Ashido put down the stuffed animal and held up her hands defensively, "Okay, okay, okay!" She said, "No need for that! I'll tone it down, I promise." She paused, "I don't know why you're being so defensive about this Tsuyu. His recent moodiness aside, Allen's a nice guy, he's strong and he's pretty cute too, there are definitely worse people to have a crush on."

"If you think he's so great, you should go out with him yourself, ribbit." Asui replied, "He's been staring at you in heroics class lately, and I know you two have been talking a lot more."

Asui felt conflicted about this development, and it was difficult to keep any bitterness out of her voice. As much as her chest constricted unpleasantly whenever Allen would vent to her about his romantic frustrations about Yaoyorozu, she felt simultaneously guilty and reassured in her knowledge that his attraction to her was entirely one-sided.

Ashido on the other hand, was clearly more receptive to Allen's attention, and the two honestly had very similar personalities—which, if Asui really thought about it, might explain why she had become such fast friends with the lively pink girl despite her ability to drive Asui completely up the wall. Asui knew it was petty, especially since she had no intention of acting on her attraction to him, but the thought of Allen with somebody else—especially one of her friends—made her heart ache. It was annoying, and she wished it would stop.

Ashido let out a hum at Asui's statement. "True. When he isn't in one of his moods, he's really fun and easy to talk to…honestly, I wouldn't mind the idea of going out with him if he asked me," she admitted with a casual ease that Asui found extremely irritating, "but I couldn't do that to you. As far as I'm concerned, you've got first dibs!"

Asui's cheeks were burning and she couldn't bring herself to look directly at Ashido's smiling face. "What 'first dibs'?" she repeated, "Don't be ridiculous, Mina-chan. We're just friends. That's all we'll ever be. There's no point in even trying."

"Pfft." Ashido dismissed, "What kind of attitude is that? If you want something, you should just go out and take it!"

"I'm just being realistic." Asui replied flatly. "He's called me to ask advice about Momo-chan…I doubt he even sees me as a girl."

"Then you just gotta _make_ him see you as a girl!" Ashido insisted. Her face lit up as an idea came to her. "Hold on a sec!" She said, leaping off of the bed and beginning to dig through her bag. "Here we go!" She thrust a crumpled ticket into Asui's hands. "Use this to invite him out on a date!"

"What is this, ribbit?" Asui said.

"It's a voucher for a nearby arcade!" She replied, "My parents gave it to me as congratulations when I first passed the mock exam for Yuuei! I've been too busy to use it and it expires this week!"

Asui inspected it closely and let out an alarmed croak, "Mina-chan I can't accept this! It has ¥100000 on it!"

"You can and you will," Ashido said with a grin, "I'll rip that thing in two if you try to give it back to me. In exchange, you have to ask him out tomorrow." Seeing Asui looking hesitant, Ashido gave her a bit of an extra push, "He'll go, I promise. I've see him playing games on his phone occasionally, and I think it will really make him happy. He deserves a nice treat like this after what he went through, right?"

"Well…" Asui croaked, visibly wavering at that line of logic. "If you really think it will help…" she shook her head, "wait, no! He'd like it more if you asked him instead!"

"I won't do it." Ashido responded, "It's you or no one. Like I said, I'll rip that ticket up in front of you if you refuse."

"…Fine, you win." Asui replied, "But I want you to know that I'm not happy about this." Her slight smile when she said this made it clear to Ashido that this was a bold faced lie.

SEMPER FAST

"Stop that."

"Stop what?" Ashido asked with a faux innocent expression as she applied the makeup to Asui's face, "I have no idea what you're talking about." She had been insufferably smug the entire day following Allen's acceptance of Asui's invitation.

"Stop looking at me with that expression," Asui clarified, "it's annoying, ribbit."

"That's a poor way to thank the friend who went out of her way to arrange this date for you." Ashido replied, taking a step back to admire her handiwork and giving a slight nod before rifling through Asui's drawers. "Okay, let's pick out your outfit...hmm, you have really cute taste, but you sure have a lot of green, Tsuyu-chan."

"I like green, ribbit." Asui responded blandly. "Is this really necessary? It's not like he'll notice any of this anyways." She gingerly touched her hair—it had taken nearly an hour to get just right to Ashido's satisfaction.

"Of course he will." Ashido replied with iron-clad confidence, pulling out dress after dress, shaking her head at each one and tossing it onto the bed. "You're adorable. He'd have to be stupid _and_ blind to not notice." She pulled out a green blouse with a v-cut that showed off just the _slightest_ hintof cleavage when Asui bent over, which was a lot, thanks to her posture. "Ooh, this is nice—we'll go with this top, okay?"

"I wish you would stop saying that to me. I know it isn't true, ribbit."

Ashido stopped what she was doing and put down the blouse on the bed. She put her hands on her hips and glared at Asui. "Okay, you're gonna have to cut out this low self-esteem crap before I get mad."

Asui walked past the glaring Ashido and picked the blouse up off of the bed. "I don't have low self-esteem." She replied, slipping on the blouse and being careful to avoid messing up her hair. "I'm actually pretty content with the person I am—I'm just being realistic about my strengths and weaknesses. I'm smart, I have a good quirk for hero work, and I have a loving family and great friends. I'm just not pretty, ribbit. Not like Momo-chan or you or Ochako-chan. It's not a tragedy or anything."

"Answer me this then," Ashido said, holding up a finger, "If you weren't cute, why would Mineta creep on you the way he does? He pretty much ignores Jirou-chan." She delivered this point with all of the certainty of a master chess player declaring checkmate. Asui saw a certain flaw in this logic however, and was quick to point it out.

"Because he's a creeper, ribbit. He even groped me at USJ—during a life threatening situation—talking about how my boobs were 'pretty big for a frog'. I prefer not to think about what goes through his greasy little mind, but he's probably hung up because it was the first and last time he'll ever touch a girl's breast in his life, ribbit."

Ashido had to admit that she had a point there, but she was stubborn and refused to concede. "Why are you so set on refusing to believe that you have your charms? Is it because you're a mutant-type?" She pointed to her horns and unusual coloration, "Because newsflash: so am I and he obviously has no problem with me."

Asui let out an irritated croak, "That's…" she paused, she didn't really have a comeback for that one, so she settled for simply saying "…that's different."

Ashido grinned triumphantly and began searching for a bottom for Asui to wear. "Mmmhmm, sure. Whatever you say, Tsuyu-chan." She pulled out a brown thigh length skirt and held it up, "I think this would look good with that top, don't you?"

Asui sighed and inspected the article. Honestly she wasn't super crazy about showing off so much skin for no reason but her objections were cut off by the alarm on her phone warning her that it was time to leave for the train station. "It'll have to do, ribbit." She said, snatching the skirt out of Ashido's hands and quickly putting it on. Asui grabbed a pair of red shoes and slipped them on as well. "Well," she croaked, "I'm off."

"Wait!" Ashido called as Asui was heading to the door. She wrapped Asui up in a hug, "You really do look cute. Just be yourself and he'll fall for you in no time. I promise." Asui merely let out a quiet ribbit in response.

SEMPER FAST

The "date", if you could call it that, went off without a hitch—sort of. Asui would be lying if she said that there wasn't a significant part of her that was disappointed by the presence of Midoriya and Uraraka—she just hoped that she hadn't been too obvious in her displeasure. Uraraka seemed to pick up on the fact that they were third-wheels and she dragged a confused Midoriya off by the arm, leaving her and Allen alone. Asui wasn't sure if she were irritated at how horribly unsubtle the girl was about it, or grateful that she picked up on it at all.

Her heart felt like it was going to burst out of her chest when Allen called her "cute" at Uraraka's prompting. When he complimented her new hairstyle specifically, she decided that it was to be her new go-to style from that point on. It didn't matter how much work it would be—it would be worth it…she hoped.

At first, making conversation was awkward because of how conscious she was of him after Allen's remarks—she wanted to slap herself after obliquely referring to their outing as a date. Allen's shocked reaction was slightly disheartening, but it wasn't unexpected, so she managed to pull herself together and suggested a round of DDR. She didn't ever go to arcades, but her family owned a game console with a DDR pad, so she was very familiar with the game.

When Allen began boasting about his abilities, Asui saw an opportunity to deflate his ego and relieve her frustration at the same time, so she took advantage of her impeccable poker face, betting that she would win at the game and tricking him into taking her out to dinner. His initial shell-shocked expression when the reality of his loss set in after all of his trash talking was hilarious, but he took his defeat with good grace.

The next couple of hours passed far too quickly for Asui's taste, and before they knew it, Allen was walking her back to the dorm. The quiet was oppressive as they made their way down the shadowy campus road. Asui nearly jumped out of her skin when Allen finally broke the silence. "I've been thinking Tsu-chan." He sounded nervous, which made her even _more_ nervous.

"Ribbit; sounds painful." She croaked jokingly, but her heart was pounding and head spinning as she allowed herself to hope. " _Does he like me after all? Is he about to confess?_ "

Allen laughed sarcastically. "You're a real riot, you know that?"

"No, I'm a frog." Asui's response was immediate and instinctive. Her entire family had been making that particular joke for years and it was rewarding when Allen let out a real laugh at that and told her that her jokes were terrible with a chuckle. They had a small back and forth exchange before he said the words that stopped her in her tracks.

"I was thinking about what you said earlier, about Uraraka thinking this was supposed a date!"

 _"_ What about it?" Asui replied, forcing her voice to be as casual as possible. " _Please please please be different this time. Please let it work out._ "

"Well, I was just thinking that this would be a great date idea for me and Ashido. It was a ton of fun, and if it can get someone as tightly wound as Midoriya to loosen up around Uraraka-san, then it would be bound to work for me, right?"

Asui felt like she had just been punched in the heart. Her eyes began to water involuntarily, so she dropped her gaze and quickly began walking again so that he wouldn't see. "I think you two are probably loose enough as it is." " _I'm so stupid…I knew! I told myself a million times not to get my hopes up and I did it anyways! Stupid!"_

"Whoa, whoa, what the hell was that?" Allen asked, alarmed. "Are you upset with me about something?"

" _No shit, Detective Conan. You figure that out on your own?"_ A nasty corner of her mind lashed out. "No," She lied, shaking her head but refusing to look at him, "I'm just yanking your chain, Ren-chan. You should take her there…she'll have a great time with you." " _Too bad she'll say no…guess nobody will get what they want._ "

"You sure?" Allen asked, not dropping the subject. "That seemed somehow different than your usual ball busting." It never ceased to amaze Asui how he could be so perceptive about certain things and blind about others at the same time.

"It was a dumb joke Ren-chan, let it go." They got to the door at last. "This is it." she said, quickly opening the door to retreat inside. "Good night Ren-chan." She shut the door in his face as he bade her good night as well and walked upstairs. On a whim, she looked out one of the windows that face the entrance and saw him standing there, looking confused. "Ren-chan, you really aren't very smart, are you?"

 **AN: This chapter was a beast to complete. Sitting at a little over 12K words, it's the longest one yet. I hope you all enjoyed my take on one of my favorite characters. If you did, let me know, and if you didn't, I'd like to know how I can improve in the future. Happy reading everyone!**


	13. Kicking off the Festival

Ch. 13: Kicking off the Festival

Allen did his best to ignore the calm, patient, but expectant stare of Aizawa as he occupied his desk. His foot was tapping restlessly and his arms were clamped across his chest like chains, balled fists firmly tucked into his armpits in a desperate attempt to lock away the dark emotions raging inside his heart. "I don't see why I have to be here." Allen finally said, the words spilled from his mouth like water from a dam swollen by rain. He tried his best to keep his face and tone neutral, but couldn't help the patina of anger and frustration at the perceived injustice of his situation from slipping through. "I did exactly what you said to do whenever I feel overwhelmed. I don't understand why I'm being punished for that."

Still as a statue, Aizawa's expression was indiscernible beneath the bandages obscuring his face. "Do you think that I'm using these sessions as a punishment?" He asked, "That I told you to meet with me today because I saw fault with how you handled what happened today?"

"I can't see any other reason why you'd make me come here for the second time this week." Allen growled through clenched teeth as he slouched in his seat. "Nobody else has to do this. Don't bother denying it, I've asked around…no matter how well you try to hide it, you, my friends…you all look at me like some kind of…some kind of rabid dog."

Aizawa shook his head. "Allen, if I thought you were truly a danger to your peers, we wouldn't be having this conversation. The only rational choice would be to have you removed from the program. The reason that you are sitting in that chair right now isn't because I'm punishing you, it's because I have faith that you can get past this. Putting me aside for a second though, I'm curious, why do you think that your peers see you as a rabid animal?"

Allen's voice was hollow, bitter. "I've seen the way they look at me. I scared Midoriya earlier today…he looked at me the same way that he used to look at Bakugo back before he…" Allen snapped his mouth shut when his brain caught up with what he was saying. He had come dangerously close to spilling Midoriya's secret.

"Before he what?" Aizawa asked.

"Nothing," Allen lied, "it isn't important…the point is that he…he's my friend. He should know that I've got his back…that I wouldn't ever…but I _scared_ him. I scared Ts—Asui today too."

"Do you think that it's possible you're misinterpreting the situation?" Aizawa asked. "Have you tried asking them how they feel about it?"

"Look," Allen replied defensively, "I'm not the smartest guy ever…but Midoriya wears his emotions on his sleeve, and I know fear when I see it." Allen slammed a fist on the desk with a loud thump. "They see me as a ticking time bomb and the worst part is that _they're right_."

Aizawa leaned forward, "Tell me Allen, what was going through your head when Asui-san split open your scar?"

Allen tensed at the question, ducking his head and drawing his shoulders inward as he clenched up so tightly that his body began to tremble. As he spoke, the words tumbled out of his mouth, halting and hesitant as he struggled to piece together his clouded recollection of the event. "I…I wasn't thinking…not…not really. I've…been angry before…hell, I'm angry a lot…but this was…this was like I…" Allen swallowed hard, "I just wanted to hurt her. I felt like I _needed_ to hurt her—I knew that if I didn't walk away from that fight right then, I wouldn't have stopped." He replied in a small, scared voice that sounded so unlike him that for a brief moment, Allen was convinced that somebody else had answered the question. Allen's eyes were glassy, his face a portrait of shame.

Aizawa nodded, "But you didn't hurt her, Allen. You walked away. Despite all of the anger, you managed to stop yourself. A 'ticking time bomb' couldn't have done that."

"I don't know how I stopped." Allen admitted, and it was that admission that frightened him more than anything else. "I…I wish I could say that I stopped because Tsu-chan is my friend…or that I remembered your anger management exercises...but…I can't; I don't know."

"Why do you think you were able to stop? I don't need a hard answer; just give me your best theory."

"I _don't_ _know._ " Allen loudly insisted, tears welling up in his eyes. "I would tell you if I could, but I _can't_! I don't know!"

"Would you like to hear my theory?"

Allen didn't trust his voice to remain steady, the floodgates were close to bursting and he did not want to cry—his loss of composure was humiliating enough without adding tears into the mix—so he merely nodded.

"I think that no matter how angry you were, you have a heroic instinct inside of you that was stronger. You didn't attack Asui-san in a blind rage because at your very core, you place the well-being of your friends and loved ones even higher than yourself."

At this, Allen snorted involuntarily, but he straightened up as some of the tension left his body. "My 'heroic instinct'? _Really_? That's the best you've got?" He shook his head, "Doesn't sound like you to believe in something so 'irrational', sensei."

"On the contrary," Aizawa replied, "dismissing the power of the heroic instinct is the very height of irrationality. I would think that the son of a soldier should understand this better than most. You've heard the stories of soldiers who would jump onto grenades, or who throw themselves in the line of fire in order to protect their comrades?"

Allen nodded, "Yeah, of course. My great-grandfather was one of them…he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions in the war that broke out after quirks manifested." Allen delivered this information with a great deal of pride.

"For most people, their survival instinct trumps everything else during highly stressful scenarios. During my time as a hero, I've seen men trample old women and children in a panic to escape burning buildings. I've seen people pushed down by their closest friends to improve their chances of escaping an attacking villain. At times like these, it's easy to think that we humans are no better than animals. However, a certain portion of the population possesses an instinct to protect those around them so strong that it supersedes their desire for self-preservation."

"People like Midoriya, you mean." Allen murmured.

Aizawa nodded, "Midoriya is an extreme example of this. His heroic instinct is one of the strongest I've ever seen—to the point where it's frankly self-destructive."

Allen let out a humorless chuckle, "Yeah," he agreed, "he does tend to go a little overboard. I almost had a heart attack when I saw him on the news during the sludge incident a year ago…when I asked him about it, he said that he wanted to run away, but his legs moved before he had a chance to think…you think something similar happened to me too, huh?"

"I do."

At these two simple words, Allen leaned back in his chair looking like the world had been lifted off of his shoulders. "Thanks sensei." He said, "I…uh, I needed to hear that, I guess."

"Glad to help," Aizawa replied, pulling a stack of papers out of his desk and beginning to work on grading them, "you can go now."

Allen looked at his watch, "It's only been 15 minutes…you sure?"

Aizawa looked up from his paperwork, "Do you have anything else you want to talk about?"

"No, not really." Allen replied, shaking his head.

"Then don't let me keep you." Aizawa said, and indicated towards the door with a tilt of his head, "I'm sure that you've got training to do for the festival. It's an important opportunity for you."

"Okay, thanks." Allen stood up and walked out of the door, feeling much lighter. He suspected that his problem would rear its ugly head again before long, but for now he was going to simply enjoy his lifted spirits while they lasted.

SEMPER FAST

The rest of the week was relatively uneventful. As promised, Allen invited Kirishima over to his place and showed him some of the ropes of martial arts, and when his father got off work, he would chime in every so often as well—with Allen playing translator of course. Kirishima was a quick study and absorbed everything they taught him with boundless enthusiasm, making leaps and bounds in only a few practice sessions. Even with a language barrier, Kirishima's friendly, personable nature and general passion shined through and both of Allen's parents took an immediate liking to him—at one point, Chris even expressed that Kirishima was his favorite of the friends Allen had brought over, _including_ _Midoriya_ —saying that while he did hold in him in incredibly high regard, he found the formerly quirkless boy's high strung and hesitant nature slightly irritating. Plus, Chris really enjoyed the novelty of being able to teach someone who he didn't have to hold back against at all, and repeatedly nailed Kirishima with full strength hits that would do serious damage to anyone else when they sparred.

As for the situation with Asui…well, Allen preferred not to think about it, so he didn't, focusing on the task at hand instead. By mutual unspoken agreement, the two of them hadn't spoken to each other since their spar. On his part, Allen was unable to bring himself to face her after how he had upset her—but mostly it was because of what he had nearly done, how close he had come to losing control. How could he trust himself when all it took to make him want to nearly pound his friend into paste was a simple cut on the cheek during a spar? He had to distance himself from her—no matter what Aizawa-sensei said, until he got his temper problem under control, it simply wasn't safe to be around her—it was for the best, really.

At the same time, Asui couldn't face him because she was too busy wallowing in a sea of guilt and self-pity. She had lost her temper and hurt somebody that she cared about in a way that went way beyond a simple cut on the cheek. She had opened up his scars—both literally and figuratively—and for what? Sure, she had been annoyed with Allen's hesitance to fight her, to take her seriously as a hero, but that wasn't what she had really been upset about. She had let herself get her hopes up, so she lashed out after getting hurt, because she had—like always—been overlooked for someone prettier than her, more expressive, shapelier, just like she knew she would from the very beginning. She had to distance herself from him—no matter what Ashido or Uraraka said, if she couldn't get a handle on her unreciprocated feelings, then she was going to be nothing but a burden to him—it was for the best, really.

SEMPER FAST

"FUCK! Fucking sit still you hyperactive retard! I'll kill you!"

"How about you shut the fuck up and let me prepare the way I want to prepare instead?" Allen replied with a wide grin, lightly hopping from foot to foot on the tips of his toes and doing various dynamic stretches to limber up. Despite the tense and heavy atmosphere in the 1-A waiting room before the festival started, Allen was feeling great. Sports days were always his favorite part of regular school—thanks to his ridiculous athleticism, he had been named as the MVP every year during middle school—much to Bakugo's annoyance—and he planned on continuing that victorious tradition today as well. Sure, the allowance of quirks evened the playing field quite a bit, but Allen's quirk was so generally useful that he wasn't worried in the least. Also, unlike most of his classmates—who trained up to the very last second—he had greatly tapered off the intensity of his workouts in the final week before the festival and made sure to load up on carbs for breakfast, so his body felt like it was filled to the brim with energy. He had tried to convince Midoriya to do the same, but to no avail.

" _Language,_ Allen-kun!" Iida chastised him. "Is everyone's preparations complete? We are going to start in a matter of minutes!"

"Wha—how come _I'm_ the one getting bitched at for language?" Allen pointed at Bakugo, "He cursed too! This is such horseshit!"

Uraraka walked over and gave Allen a conciliatory pat on the shoulder. "He's pretty much given up on gettin' Bakugo-kun ta act right." She explained, "He still thinks that he'll get ya to come round 'ventually."

"Yeah, well good luck with that," Allen replied with a scoff, "cause my filthy fucking mouth is here to stay."

Uraraka merely laughed before her eyes widened and she pointed over to another part of the room. "Woah, what's goin' on over there?"

"Hmm?" Allen looked over where she was pointing and saw Midoriya getting stared down by none other than the top dog of the class—not that Allen would ever admit it—Todoroki Shoto. Curious, Allen walked closer to hear what was being said.

"—stronger than you."

"Eh? W-what?" Midoriya replied, looking around as if to confirm that he really was the one being singled out.

"You've managed to get All Might's attention on you, right?" Midoriya's face paled for a split second. Todoroki shook his head, "I have no need to pry into that, but…" his gaze hardened. "I'm going to beat you." Everyone went silent at this declaration. Todoroki had never shown any interest in anyone in the class until now, so his decision to call out Midoriya of all people was surprising to say the least.

"Whoa there!" Kaminari said with a shocked expression plastered on his face, "Is that a declaration of war from the strongest kid in the class?"

" _Who's_ the strongest?" Allen and Bakugo simultaneously asked Kaminari with identical scowls on their faces before looking at each other in annoyance and getting in each other's faces. " _What_?" They said in perfect stereo, slamming their palms onto the table at the same time. "You're not/you aren't stronger than me, you asshole/retard!"

An amused Jirou leaned in and to whispered to Ojiro, "Those two should get it over with and just bang already." Ojiro snorted and had to wrap his tail around his mouth to muffle his laughter.

"Shh!" Uraraka hissed at the two quarrelling boys, "Pipe down will ya? I'm tryin' to hear what they're sayin'!"

"The fuck you just say to me, you bitch?" Bakugo glared at Uraraka. "Don't tell me what to do. Ever." Allen and Uraraka briefly shared a look before mutually deciding to ignore Bakugo—they recognized that there really was no point in engaging with him, so they returned their focus to the drama unfolding in front of them.

Todoroki shook off Kirishima's attempt at peacemaking. "I'm not here to play nice or make friends."

Midoriya stared a hole into the ground, not quite able to meet the half-and-half hero's eyes. "I don't know what you want from me by saying all of that…" he said, "you're definitely stronger than me, looking at it objectively."

"Jesus dude," Allen said, "have a little backbone, why don't you?"

Kirishima agreed. "Yeah, c'mon Midoriya, no need to be so negative."

" _Even so_!" Midoriya cut in, his eyes were still on the ground but his fists were tightly clenched. "Everyone…even kids from other departments are aiming for the top with everything they've got…I can't just let myself fall behind!" He looked up and met Todoroki's cool gaze with a glare of his own. "I'm going to go for it with all of my might too!" Reactions to this exchange were varied. Most people were more focused on their own preparations, others watched with detached interest, Bakugo looked irritated—well, more irritated than usual anyways—and Todoroki showed a hint of interest at Midoriya's refusal to back down.

It was a heavy moment, which Allen promptly shattered it by walking up and wrapping an arm around Midoriya's neck, pulling him into a half-hearted headlock. "That's the spirit, man!" Allen playfully jostled his embarrassed and protesting friend, gently grinding his knuckles into Midoriya's scalp. "Champions always gotta go for the win! But don't forget that you have other competition too! I'm currently 3-0 for Sports Festivals and I'm looking to continue the streak!"

"Hey, get off me!" Midoriya grunted, before worming his way out of the headlock. He let out an annoyed huff and smoothed out his PE uniform. "You know I hate it when you do that!" He grumbled.

"Sorry, I forgot." Allen lied with a shit-eating grin that made it clear that he wasn't sorry in the least.

"Sure you did." Midoriya replied flatly.

"It's time!" Iida called out. "Let's do our best everyone!"

SEMPER FAST

The unmistakable voice of Present Mic rang out over the loudspeakers as he commented on the public's excitement to see the class of first years that faced down an invasion of villains and lived to tell the tale. A feral grin stretched across Allen's face as he heard the roar of the crowd just outside the bright exit of the stadium, this was the moment he'd been waiting for—it was show time at last. As the students stepped across the threshold and into view, the cheers went from loud to nearly deafening in volume.

Allen had never had been one to suffer from stage fright—he was one of those rare people who had absolutely no qualms about public speaking. In fact, he couldn't even understand why people even made a big deal about it—it wasn't like talking to a group of people was fundamentally any different than talking to just one person. That being said, even he was overwhelmed by the sheer size of the crowd—there had to be 100,000 people watching them at the very least, and that wasn't even counting the people watching on TV.

"Holy _shit_!" he breathed, "I knew that the Yuuei Sports Day was a big deal, but this is…"

"Ehhhhehehe." Midoriya laughed nervously, forcing a smile on his face. He had broken out into a cold sweat and was shaking in his boots. "Th-th-there a-are so many people."

"Yes." Iida commented, "I believe that this too is a part of the Yuuei learning experience—can you draw out your best performance with the eyes of so many upon you?"

Allen shook off his momentary shock and cracked his knuckles dramatically. "You're goddam right we can!" He exclaimed. He slapped Midoriya on the back hard enough to make him stumble forward a little bit with a surprised yelp. "It's time to tell the world that we're here! Right, Midoriya?"

Midoriya glared at Allen for a second before he realized what Allen had said—he had told his friend about All Might's directive to announce his presence to the world. At the reminder of his mentor's words, Midoriya's limbs stopped shaking and the fake smile on his face was replaced by a confident grin. He nodded. "Yeah!"

The sound of a cracking whip rang out, drawing the attention of the students to a dark-haired woman with a voluptuous figure and a provocative costume. "Oh!" Mineta cried out. He was making groping gestures with his hands and he had tears of joy in his eyes, "It's Midnight-sensei! She's gonna be our referee!"

Allen scratched his head. "Why's he getting so excited?" He asked out loud to no one in particular. "Don't get me wrong, I like seeing her in costume as much as any guy, but it's not like we don't see her a couple of times a week already."

"I prefer not to think about what goes through his head." Yaoyorozu answered him with a look of distaste on her face. "Just ignore him. That's what we do—that being said, I'm not sure how such a…person became an educator in the first place."

Midnight overheard them and loudly cracked her whip, a vein pulsing angrily on her forehead. "Silence!" She barked, "My tenure here is perfectly legitimate! Now, Player Rep! Midoriya Izuku!"

"What!" The entire class exclaimed in surprise, their eyes seeking out and finding a nervously sweating Midoriya, who looked overwhelmed by his sudden role as the center of attention.

"Midoriya is the representative?" Someone asked, "But he doesn't stand out, like, at all."

"Apparently he managed to get the top score on the entrance exam with the extra points he got when he blew away that zero-pointer."

"Still though…he's a bit…"

"Yeah, he doesn't really leave a memorable impression."

"Look at him muttering over there, he's kinda creepy…"

Bakugo scowled and buried his hands in his pockets, while Allen grit his teeth at the low-key insults being thrown at his friend as Midoriya hesitantly made his way up to the podium, all the while looking like he'd rather be anywhere else.

"Umm, h-h-hello everyone." Midoriya said; his eyes darted around manically as if he were searching for an escape route.

Allen dropped his head into his hands—this was going to be painful. Midoriya was absolute garbage at public speaking. The few times that they had done group projects in middle school that required a presentation, Allen had been the one who had to do all of the talking—even when his command over the Japanese language was still shaky, he was still more coherent and confident in his delivery than Midoriya, who turned into a stuttering mess every time.

"I-I…umm…that is…" Allen winced, but then something happened that he didn't expect. While he was floundering, Midoriya looked into the crowd and saw something or someone that made his eyes widen in surprised recognition; he paused and took a deep breath before slapping a lopsided smile on his face. "A-as long as I can remember…all I ever wanted was to be a hero…the greatest hero." He said, voice echoing out clearly across the silent area; haltingly at first, but gradually growing more self-assured as he continued on. "No matter how improbable it was, or how difficult the road there would be getting there, I wanted to save everyone with a fearless smile on my face, j-just like All Might. It was… _is_ my dream." He paused, his eyes passed over the crowd of students before him, sometimes stopping to linger on certain people. "While everyone has their own motivations for being here today, we all share the same dream—more than anything, we long to be heroes. I am truly grateful for this opportunity. Everybody…let's do our best!" Midoriya bowed deeply to the spectators and stepped off of the podium.

There was a brief moment of silence before applause began raining down like thunder, making Midoriya flush a deep red.

"Well said, kid!" A spectator shouted out, "I like your attitude! I'm gonna be rooting for you!"

Iida clapped a hand on Midoriya's shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "That was very well done, Midoriya-kun! I was worried for a moment, but you represented us and yourself very well!"

Allen nodded in agreement, "Definitely! You always froze up before, but you handled it like a champ! What made the difference?"

Midoriya averted his eyes, "I guess I just realized that after putting my life on the line, something like this isn't anything to be scared of." He smiled and gave them all a thumbs up.

"That's a good point there Deku-kun," Uraraka agreed with a smile of her own before pointing down, "but yer legs are still shakin'."

They all looked down at Midoriya's legs, which were indeed quivering uncontrollably from the nerves. "A-ah," Midoriya stammered, "s-so they are." There was a brief pause, and then the group of friends laughed.

Wasting no time, Midnight announced the first event—a no-holds barred obstacle course race. At this news, Allen began to cackle evilly, drawing concerned looks from the students around him. They made their way over to the starting line. "Hahaha, there couldn't be a more perfect event for me if I picked it myself!" He bragged, "This is going to be a cinch!"

Midoriya shook his head. "You should know better than to underestimate UA, Allen." He scolded him before his eyes went wide and he began to look nervous. "I'm sure that they've managed to cook up all kinds of awful crap for us to get past!"

Allen blew a raspberry. "Whatever," He replied dismissively. "It's a _race_. The only person here who even stands a chance of beating me in a straight up race is Iida, and in case you don't remember, I'm faster than him! Now, hurry up and follow me!" Allen began to forcefully shove his way through the tightly packed corridor that served as the starting point for the race, upsetting many people in the process. "It doesn't matter how fast I am if I get screwed by one of these asshole's quirks because I'm trapped in a goddamn tunnel!"

"You shouldn't call our peers assholes." Midoriya protested as he followed closely behind his friend, apologizing on Allen's behalf to the people who he bulldozed through on his way to the front. "I swear, you're almost as bad as Bakugo whenever you get all worked up and ultra-competitive like this."

"Is that supposed to make me feel guilty or something?" Allen asked, "Just about the only admirable thing about that asshole is that he always goes for the win. I'll tell you what though: I'll make sure to be extra gracious after I'm done making them eat my dust." Allen's relentless advance to the front of the pack was halted when another blond kid with a weird look in his eyes purposely stepped in front of him to impede his progress. "Who the fuck are you?" Allen asked with a dangerous lilt to his voice—standing between him and his goal right now was a really bad idea.

"Typical of Class 1-A," the kid replied haughtily, "pushing their peers around and you don't even know their names! I'll have you know that Class B will—"

"Don't care. Move." Allen replied, cutting the boy off mid-rant by with a hard shove that sent him stumbling face first into the cleavage of a girl with horns and hooves, who then proceeded to send him flying with a donkey kick. Midoriya watched this with an expression that looked like it was carved out of stone as Allen continued on without a backward glance. After another minute or so of shoving their way through the crowd, the two friends finally made it to the front of the line.

"Nice to see you taking this seriously." A calm, even voice spoke up from next to them. They turned to see none other than Todoroki standing at the very head of the pack, looking at Midoriya with the same casually indifferent expression as always. "I would hate to have called you out only for you to fail at the first hurdle. Regardless, I'm still going to beat you." He didn't even spare Allen a second glance before returning his attention to the road ahead.

For some reason, Allen felt incredibly irked by this. "Hey," he complained—Todoroki still didn't look at him, so Allen gave him a light shove, drawing Todoroki's mismatched eyes his way, "I'm talking to you, asshole!"

"Don't touch me." Todoroki replied in a low, irritated voice, glaring at Allen. His breath came out in a cold mist as the air surrounding them dropped several degrees in temperature.

Allen felt a chill run down his spine at this and he didn't know how he managed to avoid taking a step back. Despite all of Bakugo's power and skill, he had never once intimidated Allen with his explosive bursts of temper—a coldly enraged Todoroki though? Scary as _fuck_. Still, Allen didn't back down. "I don't like being ignored or written off." Allen said matching Todoroki's glare, "And you had better watch yourself because _I'm_ going to be the one who wins this thing!"

" _AS IF YOU RETARD!_ " A voice shouted out from a few meters behind them, "I'M GETTING A TOTAL VICTORY HERE TODAY!"

A vein throbbed in Allen's head. "Fucking Bakugo…" he muttered, "I WASN'T TALKING TO YOU, YOU ASSCLOWN!" He shouted back, "SAVE YOUR POSTURING FOR SOMEONE WHO CARES, DAMMIT!"

The tension of the previous moment thoroughly broken, Todoroki shot Midoriya a deadpan look, as if to ask 'Is he serious?' Midoriya merely chuckled weakly and shrugged. Todoroki shook his head. "How about you follow your own advice?" He said, "Because I couldn't care less about _your_ posturing either."

"What was that?" Allen asked, snapping his head back towards Todoroki and narrowing his eyes. Todoroki didn't answer, and merely looked away, non-verbally letting Allen know that he was washing his hands of the whole thing. "Hey! I thought I told you not to ignore me you—"

"READY? SET! STAAAAAART!" Present Mic yelled, cutting Allen off. As soon as the start was announced, Todoroki simultaneously took off running and summoned a flow of ice that went into the tunnel behind them, trapping most of the participants—with the exception of Class A, who predicted this tactic thanks to Todoroki's performance in the Mock Villain battle and were able to avoid it. Everyone—that is, except for Allen, who found his feet already stuck fast to the ground when he tried to move to avoid the attack.

"Eh?" Allen said, looking down at his shoes frozen securely to the ground as people jostled him roughly in an attempt to claw their way past him. "When the hell did he..?" Angry realization dawned on his face. "Earlier…when I pushed him…it got cold." Allen's face went red and he let out a shout of frustration. "AAAAARGH! That sneaky son of a bitch! He got me before the race even started!" Without hesitation, Allen quickly pulled his feet out of his shoes—there was no time to try and break them out, he had to leave them behind.

"Ahhh!" He yelped as he placed his foot onto the frigid ground, the only thing between him and the sub-zero temperature ice was a thin cotton sock, and the moisture from Allen's sweat was freezing and sticking to it, gradually removing even that level of protection. "FUCK! OW! That's so goddamn cold! I'm gonna make that fucker _eat_ my goddamn shoes for this later! OW!" Allen began hopping up and down while alternating feet. "Shit! There's no way I'm gonna be able to do this whole thing barefoot! I've gotta figure something out." Allen searched around desperately until he saw two male students a couple meters behind him fighting to free their feet from the ice as well. Allen grinned. "That'll have to do!" Activating his 4X boost, Allen ran over to the two students and grabbed them by their t-shirt, pulling them to their feet.

"What are you—"

"Sorry, I'm borrowing these!" Allen said in a high pitched blur of words as he pulled off their shirts with one motion and tore them into strips before fashioning them into improvised shoes as quickly as he could. "Thanks! I'll pay you back later!" He yelled as he ran off.

"H-Hey!" They cried.

' _Fuck,_ ' he thought as he ran, ' _I'm really behind—that cost me nearly two minutes!_ " Still, Allen had to remind himself to keep calm and watch his pace. Four kilometers was a decent distance—even without taking the obstacles into consideration—and at a 4X boost, he was essentially doing four times the physical work of everybody else. Still, the usefulness of his quirk for the event was proven when he caught up the rest of the pack in a little under a minute, though he was still quite a bit behind the front runners.

Ahead of him, was a cluster of students being held at bay by what looked like the villains from the entrance exam, including the zero pointers. While a couple of them were collapsed and frozen, there were still enough remaining that it was giving several of the students a hard time as they fought to take them down. ' _Yeah, fuck that.'_ Allen thought, and decided to simply run around them—it wasn't like they could touch him at the speed he was moving. As he ran past, he saw Kirishima burst out from under the collapsed robot in slow motion, nearly making him stop in his tracks from shock. ' _He can shrug off that monster falling on him?'_ Allen mouthed to himself in shock, suddenly feeling like his decision to teach Kirishima the finer points of fighting was going to come back to bite him in ass.

Still, Allen had no time for regrets as he caught a glimpse of the rest of Class A—especially Bakugo—blowing past the robots like they were nothing. So, he continued on along the path until he came to a gigantic gorge about 150-meters wide filled with tower-like formations connected by ropes. Allen's mouth dropped open. "Seriously?" He said weakly, peering over the side, "These people have no concept of restraint, do they? I can't even see the bottom." He caught a glimpse of Todoroki powering through this obstacle like all of the rest, simply grinding over the rope by creating a bridge of ice that fell apart as he moved along. Meanwhile, Bakugo was using his explosions to propel himself across the gaps, quickly gaining on Todoroki. "Still," Allen said, "there's no time to waste." He dropped out of his boosted state and took a deep breath.

Allen was a ridiculously fit guy, but he knew that trying to do a task like this with his quirk active would definitely exhaust him—he probably wouldn't even be able to make it across. He sat down at the edge of the canyon, grabbed onto the rope and pushed himself off, letting himself hang before walking hand over hand across the gap, swinging like a monkey and gritting his teeth as he watched people with more suitable quirks blaze past him. " _Don't lose your cool!"_ He repeated in his head again and again, fighting the temptation to activate his quirk to pick up the pace. " _You'll make it up in the final stretch! Don't make the same mistake you made in the entrance exam!"_

After what seemed like an eternity, he finally made it across the gorge and stopped for a moment to shake out his burning arms before reactivating Fast Forward and continuing onward once again. After about a kilometer, he saw a small crowd slowly and carefully stepping across a several hundred meter long stretch of path. ' _What are they doing?_ ' Allen wondered, ' _It's like they're going through a minefield or something."_ As if on cue, an explosion went off and sent one of the competitors flying. "Oh," Allen said in a distant voice, "it _is_ a minefield." He paused. "The _FUCK_!? _"_ He exclaimed, "Why the fuck would they make a minefield? That seems like a _really_ bad idea! Still," he grinned, "this is the best possible set-up for me!"

Realizing that with this particular obstacle in place, he had absolutely no need to worry about his stamina, Allen jumped all the way up to his 8X boost and began carefully stepping his way through the dangerous terrain. Though he was moving at a brisk walking pace by his perspective, to everyone else, he might as well have been sprinting. He blew past everyone, quickly catching up to Todoroki and Bakugo, who were quite literally fighting for the lead, and then overtaking them. "See ya, bitches!" Allen yelled in a high pitch voice that was almost certainly unintelligible. When the two saw Allen take the lead, they stopped fighting each other and ran forward recklessly, entirely focused on the person in front of them—but unfortunately for them, there was little chance of that happening.

"BOOOOOOM!"

A massive explosion suddenly rang out from behind them, and all three lead runners turned to see what had caused it. Their mouth's simultaneously dropped in shock when they saw none other than _Midoriya_ flying at them at high speed, riding some kind of metal panel. Luckily for Allen, with his quirk active, he was able to recover from the shock in a fraction of a second in real-time and resume running. ' _That crazy_ _motherfucker!_ ' Allen thought with a wide grin and a shake of the head as he cleared the minefield and dropped back down to his 4X boost before breaking into a run for the final stretch. ' _Pulling a surprise gambit out like always, huh? That's so…you."_

"BOOOM!" Another explosion rang out from behind him—though significantly less powerful than before—however, this time, Allen didn't look back, and continued relentlessly onward towards the goal. Before he knew it, he crossed through the tunnel that was the entrance to the stadium once more and slid to a stop, deactivating his quirk and hunched over, panting heavily as the effects of his extreme exertion caught up with him.

"AND THE WINNER IIIIIIIIIS: ALLEN MAAAAAARTINNNN!" Present Mic's magnified voice rang out over the loudspeaker.

Allen grinned. _"God damn right it is!"_ He thought victoriously, standing up straight and raising an arm in triumph as he drank in the deafening cheers of the crowd.

"AND WHAT'S THIS?" Present Mic said, "IT LOOKS LIKE THE NEXT RACER TO FINISH IS NONE OTHER THAN MIDORIYAAAAAA IZUKUUUUU!"

"Holy shit, really?" Allen said excitedly and jogged over to where Midoriya was standing at the entrance of the stadium, hunch over and panting just like Allen had been moments before. He clapped Midoriya on the back, "Holy fuck dude! Great job! I saw that move you pulled at the minefield! You're fucking crazy, you know that!" Allen smirked smugly at Todoroki and Bakugo respectively as the passed the finish line. "Oh man!" Allen taunted, "3rd and 4th place, huh? That sure has to sting after talking all of that mad shit earlier, huh?" At the provocation, Bakugo looked like he wanted to murder someone—more than usual anyways—while Todoroki merely scoffed and walked away, though he was equally upset in his own way.

"Allen." Midoriya said in that tone of voice that made it clear that what he was _really_ saying was 'shut up'. Instead of being happy at his amazing placing, he looked visibly frustrated that he didn't get first himself—and his lack of congratulations for Allen's victory were notable. After a brief flash of resentment, Allen put himself in his friend's shoes and pushed the ugly feeling out of his mind—Midoriya had desperately wanted to prove himself worthy of All Might's expectations, and he saw anything less than being number one as a failure to do so. Of course he was frustrated.

"Hey man," Allen said, "cheer up. You just beat two of the top people in the school while barely using your quirk—if you even used it at all—that's pretty fucking impressive."

Midoriya shook his head. "I didn't. It's still really risky to use it…I feel like I'm missing something really simple but I just can't put my finger on it, still…I really wanted to win, you know?"

"I get you dude," Allen replied, "but really, how likely was it that anyone was going to beat _me_ in a race? You still blew everybody's expectations out of the water—if it weren't for me, you _would_ have won!"  
"I guess…" Midoriya replied still sounding despondent. "Still…I—"

"Deku-kun! Allen-kun!" Uraraka's voice cut him off as she ran up to the pair. She was sweaty and out of breath. "Congrats you two! First an' second place ain't bad at all! But—" She grabbed Midoriya's hands and squeezed them, turning him beet-red as she glared at him. "I got so worried when I saw that stunt ya pulled with th' mines! Don't pull another reckless stunt like that again!" Her face softened, "It _was_ really cool though…" Her glare returned, "No, yer just lucky that ya didn't get hurt! But you were amazing! But don' do it again!"

"Uraraka-san, you're contradicting yourself." Midoriya muttered, unable to make eye contact, "Are you angry with me or not?"

"I'd get used to that." Allen advised, laying a supportive hand on Midoriya's shoulder. "You're never going to understand the way women's minds work, so I wouldn't bother trying."

Uraraka dropped Midoriya's hands and rounded on Allen with a glare, "Maybe _you_ can't, but don' go thinkin' that everyone is as dense as you!" After Allen's spar with Asui, Ashido and Uraraka had taken it upon themselves to try and cheer up their frog-like friend, and while she knew it was a little hypocritical, she was more than a little frustrated with their unwillingness to just go ahead and make up already. Also, she had been hoping to place higher and was still a bit salty about it.

Allen laughed nervously, "Oh look," he said, backing away from the emotional girl, "Yaoyorozu just finished! I'm gonna go say hi!" ' _What the hell was that about?'_ When Allen approached his brief crush, he was angry—and a little jealous—to see Mineta clinging to her back like a leech.

"Two birds with one stone!" The diminutive pervert crowed with a gleeful expression, ignoring the bruise on his face where Yaoyorozu had hit him. "I'm a genius!"

"You…" Yaoyorozu huffed, "You're the _worst!_ " She looked like she was on the verge of tears when a lecherously grinning Mineta gave her well-toned rear end a pat.

"Okay _no_." Allen growled, clearing the last few steps up to her with a stormy expression. Sure, she had rebuffed his romantic overtures, but he still considered her a friend. She had never been anything less than pleasant—always helping him with any questions he had regarding classwork with a smile, genuinely happy to be helpful. "Hold still for a moment." He told her, grabbing her by the shoulder and Mineta by the collar and ripping him off of her back like a Band-Aid and holding him up in the air by the scruff of the neck.

"Hey!" Mineta protested, squirming uncomfortably in Allen's grip. "Not cool man! What happened to the Bro code!"  
"Shut the fuck up!" Allen barked in Mineta's face, channeling his father when he was in full 'drill sergeant mode'. Needless to say, Mineta did as he was told, his face went white and his protests died in the face of a furious Allen. "Don't even _try_ to justify this shit to me! Consider yourself lucky that we're in the middle of the festival right now, because I'm just going to give you a warning: if you _ever_ touch a girl like that without her consent again, I. Will. Fucking. _Bury._ You. In the fucking ground. Understand?" Mineta nodded. "I wanna hear you say the words, Mineta!" Allen yelled.

"U-U-U-Understood!" Mineta stammered, "You, me, the ground! C-C-Crystal clear!"

Allen dropped Mineta. "Good." He spat. "Now get out of my sight before I change my mind."

"Thank you Martin-san." Yaoyorozu said, looking more composed, "but I could have handled it myself, you know."

"I know you can." Allen replied, still angry. "But that pissed me off and I wanted to do something about it. Consider it selfishness on my part."

Yaoyorozu looked uncomfortable, "It might seem ungrateful to bring this up now but…" she lowered her voice, "I'm sorry, but I still do not…um…I mean, I'm still not interested in—"

"I know." Allen interrupted, taking mercy on her. "I told you when you turned me down that there were no hard feelings and I meant it. You're still my friend, and that means I'm going look out for you whether you like me like that or not—you'd do the same for me, right?"

Yaoyorozu smiled. "Of course."

"Then don't worry about it." The two chatted for a bit while the rest of the runners poured in one after another. Neither noticed a pair of dark eyes following them from within the crowd.

"It's all over!" Midnight announced, "Here are the results!" On the electronic board the listing of the places popped up, and Allen was pleased to see that everybody in Class A had managed to not only qualify, but generally dominate the rankings—although he supposed that it was only natural that the Hero course kids would do well. Midnight cracked her cat-of-nine tails to silence the chatter of the students and get their attention. "Now, it's time to move on to today's heart pounding second event!" She cradled the kinky object between her breasts and fidgeted, "Aaahn," she moaned erotically as a blush appeared on her face, "I already know what it will be, but the suspense is killing me…"

"Hehehehe…" Allen, Mineta, Kaminari, and approximately 90% of the male—and a surprisingly large amount of the female—audience giggled perversely with perverse looks on their face at this display.

"Is that really necessary?" Jirou asked with an expression like she had bit into a lemon.

"Seriously…" Yaoyorozu murmured, looking embarrassed, "it's bad enough that I have to basically strip in order to use my powers—it's because of stuff like this that a lot of female heroes get less respect."

"Behold!" Midnight said, gesturing to the electronic display, "It's the human cavalry battle!" She went on to explain the rules. Allen mostly tuned out, as he had done this in middle school—as the horse, obviously—but began paying attention again when she explained the scoring system. It was fairly standard, with the point values increasing by 5 for each person's placing in the race. Losing your headband didn't eliminate you, and the top four teams would go on to the finals.

' _Interesting twist,_ ' Allen thought, ' _but nothing too weird. I actually kind of expected some crazy rule from left field…I'm sort of disappointed.'_

"...with the exception of the first place finisher, whose headband will be worth ten million points."

"What?" Allen said flatly. The students turned to look at him with hungry expressions on their faces. "Ten million? Seriously? I heard that right, right Mido…ri…ya?" Allen took a step back when he saw Midoriya looking at him with the same predatory expression as everyone else. "Midoriya?"

"If I were you, I'd aim for the guy who placed first." Midnight advised them, "This is the chance for the low to supplant the high! Welcome to our survival game!"

Allen looked left, then right, then behind him, and saw nothing but enemies surrounding him. "Well… _fuck_." He said, looking down at the torn dirty rags on his feet. "I still don't have my shoes."

 **AN: Well, here we are folks! The sports festival is finally here! As I wrote this, I tried to think of a scenario in which Allen could lose the race, but with his quirk, he just had too much of an advantage on the final stretch. If Midoriya was able to keep up enough to pull off a win despite of how far ahead everyone else got at the first obstacles, there was no way that Allen couldn't overtake them when people were basically moving at a swift walking pace at best on the minefield. As always, any reviews would be appreciated.**

 **Happy New Year!**

 **PS: What do you all think of the new story image? I drew it over about 2 hours this weekend as my best attempt of what Allen would look like in costume. Any artists who are interested in doing a better job, let me know!**


	14. The Cavalry Battle

Ch. 14: Attack! Attack! Attack! The Cavalry Battle Begins!

"Well _fuck!"_ Allen said in realization as the surrounding students glared daggers at him. "I still don't have my shoes!"

"You have fifteen minutes to decide on your teams!" Midnight announced, "Use it wisely!"

It seemed that Allen had misinterpreted many of the hungry looks shooting his way, because almost no sooner did Midnight release them to begin their negotiations for teams was he absolutely flooded with people wanting to be on his team, some of them even pushing Midoriya aside roughly in order to get at him, knocking his friend on his butt.

"Damn, you're huge! And with that quirk…" One teen said with an awed expression, "Be on my team!"

"You got super speed with that body? How lucky can you get? Pair with me! I can—"

"No, go with me! My quirk—"

"Damn, are you seriously a first year?"

"Move!" Allen growled, pushing the crowd aside and lifting Midoriya to his feet. "Midoriya," Allen said, placing his hands on Midoriya's shoulders and looking him dead in the eye. "I leave it to you, chief strategist! I need to go and get my boots."

"Uh, Allen," Midoriya said looking guilty, "the thing is, I—"

"I really hope that they aren't still frozen." Allen griped, not paying attention. "Or wet from being frozen…or wet _and_ frozen. I like those boots."

"Uh, Allen?" Midoriya said, trying to speak over the clamor of people still lobbying to join them.

"Actually, I—"

"Maybe if I ask nicely, Todoroki will dry them off for me." Allen mused before shaking his head, "No…I probably burned that bridge earlier, he'd most likely just light them on fire, or freeze them _again_ , the asshole…dammit." He perked up, "Can anybody else here dry off a pair of shoes?" He called out loudly, "I'll let you join the team!" He frowned, "Oh wait, that might mess with whatever Midoriya plans…never mind!"

"Allen!" Midoriya yelled, finally getting his friend's attention.

"Yeah?" Allen replied, "You come up with something?"

"I'm not going to be on your team." Midoriya replied, "Not this time."

To say that Allen was shocked would be an understatement. "Wha—what are you talking about, dude?" He asked. "We've always been a team, the two of us…what do you mean you aren't gonna be on my team?"

Midoriya shook his head. "I've always relied on you for stuff like this…even when nobody ever wanted to be in my group during middle school, you always made sure to include me even when it meant that it hurt your chances to win…but that's why…that's why I have to do this on my own!" Midoriya clenched his fists. "I'm not somebody who you have to look after or protect anymore…I can't ever become the number one hero if I just ride on your coattails! I'll surpass you and everyone else with my own strength!" He met Allen's gaze with a resolute glare, "And today, I'm going to prove it by beating you with everything I've got!"

Allen was speechless for a second. "Midoriya…" he said, laying a hand on his friends shoulder before breaking into a wide grin. "That was the manliest fucking thing I've ever heard you say! I honestly thought I was going to tear up there for a second—that was inspiring as shit!"

"I'm serious Allen."

"So am I." Allen replied. "I really want you on my team, but if this is something you feel like you need to do, I won't try and stop you. But," Allen's gaze hardened, "you had better bring it if you want to beat me, because I don't plan on making it easy for you."

Midoriya gave Allen a crooked grin, "I wouldn't want it any other way."

Allen returned Midoriya's grin, but it fell away as he watched him approach Uraraka, who nodded enthusiastically to his words. "Dammit…I really was counting on you dude. Maybe Yaoyorozu…" He looked around and saw her speaking with Todoroki. "Fuck."

"Mufufufu yes, you sure do stand out…interesting…heeheehee! You!"

"Hmm…Gah!"

Allen was taken aback as a pink haired girl with strange goggles invaded his personal space with no regard for normal etiquette, cutting in front of the other students trying to get onto Allen's team. "Let's team up, 'First Place'-san!" She said with a broad smile.

"Sorry, do I know you?" Allen asked, taking a step back, "And my name's Allen, not 'First Place'." He corrected her, then he paused as the unusually aggressive girl's request sank in. "Also, why should I?" Allen indicated over to the jabbering crowd of people lobbying to join him, "It's not like I'm exactly hurting for options here." She was cute—as well as yet another first year girl who looked way more developed than they had any right to be, but something about the way that she was grinning at him sent a chill down Allen's spine. And, cute or not, he wasn't about to cave in to the first girl who asked to join him—he was here to win after all, and Allen Martin was nobody's sucker dammit.

The girl raised her goggles to reveal odd yellow eyes with crosshairs on them. "I'm Hatsume Mei of the Department of Support!" She said, "We don't know each other, but I'd like to use your position! If I joined you, I'd get the most attention, right? There's no better opportunity to show off my little babies! I wanna catch the attention of a big company—for my babies of course!"

"Uhhh," Allen said—he'd just received a flood of information and absolutely none of it was relevant to him, "that all sounds great for you and your…babies…but I missed the part where _I_ get something out of this." ' _At least she's honest…I guess._ "

"But of course!" Mei replied, dumping out a pack full of gear, "A healthy business relationship is always reciprocal! You said you needed some new footwear, right? I have tons of items that I developed! I'm sure that I have something that will not only suit your needs, but also make your quirk even easier to use!"

Allen bent over and picked up a pair of heavy metal shoes. ' _These things must weigh a couple of kilos…I can't use these.'_ "These are the closest to what I'm looking for, but it's too heavy and too small. All I need are some good boots that are light and durable—if you don't have anything like that, then sorry, no deal."

"Not to worry, dear customer!" Mei replied, never dropping her salesman's grin, "These are adjustable in size, and you'll find that they actually—"

"Yo Ojiro, Tokoyami!" Allen called out, turning away and ignoring Mei's pitch. "You all want to join my team?"

Mei's smile became forced as she tried to recapture Allen's attention. "Customer-san, if you'll just listen for a moment, I—"

"Not interested," Allen interrupted, "but I'll tell you what—if you get my boots out of the ice and to me before I fill out my team, I'll consider it. I'm size 31.5, by the way." Allen ran over to talk to his classmates, leaving Mei gaping at being so thoroughly blown off.

"Fine!" She shouted, "It's a deal!" Wasting no time, Mei took off at a run towards the tunnel where the race had begun—the boots had to be around there. This was definitely not how she expected her encounter with Allen to go and it irritated the crap out of her—it had been quite some time since her sheer force of personality had failed to get what she wanted out of a peer. "What a jerk." She grumbled as she searched for an abandoned pair of boots fitting Allen's description. After a minute or so of looking, she found them sitting in a layer of partially melted ice near the exit and got to work freeing them with one of her tools. "The things I do for my babies…and what kind of high schooler has feet this big anyways?"

SEMPER FAST

"Sure, I'm in." Tokoyami replied, "Though I admit I am surprised that you'd rather have me as the rider. I would have figured that you'd insist upon that role for yourself."

"No way," Allen replied, "look at me—I don't think anyone other than Uraraka or Shoji or Sato could carry me for fifteen minutes straight." He gripped his bicep. "My only good points are that I'm big, strong, and fast. I'm a natural as the horse. You're light and your quirk is badass, I can't think of anyone better for snatching up points."

"Huh?" Ojiro said, "What do you mean 'snatching up points'? We have the ten million! We should be trying to keep away from everybody at all costs!"

"No way," Allen disagreed. "Not my style, the best defense is a good offense. Everyone's going to be expecting us to try and play defensively, so they'll have their guards down. That's when we take their points in a counter attack and send them home crying!" Allen had a particularly vindictive grin when he delivered that last sentence.

Ojiro gave him a suspicious look. "You aren't just saying that because you want to eliminate Bakugo, right?"

"…No." Allen looked away sheepishly at being found out. "That's not…I mean…" He paused, "it's…not the _only_ reason." He wanted to eliminate Todoroki too, if at all possible.

"Yeah, I thought so." Ojiro replied with a deadpan expression. "That grudge of yours is a real pain in the ass sometimes, you know that?"

"Can you really blame me?" Allen said, shooting a glare over at Bakugo, who was surrounded by people wanting to join him—one of whom, to Allen's great annoyance, was Ashido. "That asshole thinks he's such hot shit…he needs to be knocked down a few pegs!"

"Motivations aside, I agree with Allen." Tokoyami added. "If we focus on acquiring as many headbands as possible, then even if by some chance we lose the ten million, we won't be eliminated." ' _Not to mention,_ ' Tokoyami thought, _'the fact that Bakugo's quirk would be bad news for me in the tournament. Eliminating him now would be ideal.'_

"Interesting plan." An unfamiliar voice drawled from behind them, "But I think that we'll be doing things my way instead, understand?"

"Oh yeah?" Allen replied, whirling on the interloper, "And who the fuck a—" Allen went silent and his eyes glazed over. ' _What…is going on? My head feels…weird."_

"Allen?" Ojiro said, concerned at the strange behavior being exhibited by his friend, "Are you okay?"

"He sure is an impulsive idiot," The boy said, "You sure he's the best choice to lead you in a battle like this?"

"Hey!" Tokoyami and Ojiro responded, "What did you—" They all went silent as well, eyes glazing over as the intruder's quirk worked its magic.

Shinso grinned. "So," he said, "first things first—what are all of your quirks?"

SEMPER FAST

Mei wore an ear to ear grin as she practically skipped back into the arena where the students were assembled. It had taken nearly ten minutes, but she had managed to not only free Allen's boots from the ice—she also dried, re-laced, polished and deodorized them. She even found the time to sneak in a few 'upgrades' for good measure, so they were even better than new!

' _On second thought_ ,' she realized, looking at the time, ' _I might have gotten a little carried away again. I just hope that he didn't fill up his team already.'_ She thought, ' _Nah, it'll be fine! I'll just force one of his teammates to leave if he did! There's no way he'll turn me down once he sees what I did with his shoes!'_ "Oh Cuuuustomer-san!" She called out in a sing-song voice, walking up to Allen once she found him walking in a group behind a lanky purple-haired kid with dark circles under his eyes.

"Hey." Shinso said, "What do you think you're doing?" He didn't need anyone messing up his ticket into the hero course—he had to stand out here if he had any hope of getting out of Gen. Education. This chick needed to get lost.

Mei ignored him, and held up the sparkling boots enticingly like she hadn't even been spoken to just now. "We had a deal right?" She asked rhetorically with a grin, "I get your shoes and you let me onto the team?"

A vein pulsed in Shinso's forehead. ' _What the heck is the deal with this girl? Who just flat out ignores someone talking to you?_ '"Hey lady!" He repeated, a bit louder this time, "I'm talking to you, don't ignore me!"

Mei stuck her chest out proudly, ignoring Shinso and continuing to talk to Allen even as he stared blankly past her, "I even took the liberty of improving them for you! You won't get this level of service anywhere else!" She bragged, "The soles were a little worn out, so I took the liberty of replacing them with an ultra-lightweight shock absorbing material! You'll see a guaranteed 25% reduction in stress to your joints or my name isn't Hatsume Mei!"

"Tch," Shinso clicked his tongue, "she's acting like I'm not even here…whatever. Let's get away from her. Come on, you lot!" He began walking away from Mei and taking his enthralled conscripts with him.

"H-Hey!" Mei protested as Allen obediently brushed past her, "We had a deal!"

"Whatever deal you had is off," Shinso replied, "go find some other team to annoy."

Mei felt her heart drop into her stomach—there was no way that she was going to be able to get onto a team with only a little more than two minutes remaining. That meant that she wasn't going to be able to show off her babies, which meant that she wasn't going to get more funding to make her babies, which meant that nobody was ever going to get to use her babies. " _Unacceptable!_ " She growled, "No way!" She drew her arm back and hurled one of Allen's boots with all of her strength, "You lying jerk!" She yelled, "I hope you lose!" She watched with an angry glare as the boot sailed across the field in a perfect arc and nailed Allen right on the top of his head, sending him stumbling into his two teammates and knocking them all over. "Serves him right." She huffed as she turned her back on them.

SEMPER FAST

Allen came to with a gasp. "What the fuck!" He yelled in shock, looking around wildly, "What just happened? Ach," he winced as he gingerly touched the lump rising on top of his head, "and why does my head hurt?"

"I think a better question," Tokoyami replied from underneath Allen with an unreadable expression, "Is why you are still on top of us?"  
"Yeah," Ojiro replied, "not to rush you, but can you get off already? You're heavy, and it's not like we're currently on national television looking like a bunch of idiots or anything…oh wait, that's _exactly_ what's happening."

' _Shit,_ _I knew that bitch was bad news, I've got to get them back under my control, fast.'_ "Are you all okay?" Shinso asked.

"Ye—mmfhm" Allen started to reply before Ojiro slapped his tail over his mouth.

"Well this is unexpected," Shinso said, "Looks like Monkey-boy actually has a brain on him. Surprising, considering his stupid face." Allen angrily removed Ojiro's tail from his mouth and opened it to reply, but Ojiro quickly grabbed him and Tokoyami and led them away from Shinso. "Dammit," Shinso cursed, "fine, I'll find some other group."

"Don't answer him." Ojiro warned, "I think he can control people who answer his questions—the last thing I remember is you going all dead-eyed when you responded to him. That's how he got all of us."

"He has _mind control_?" Allen asked, shivering at the implications of such a power. "That's seriously creepy…that's got to be the most villainous fucking quirk I've ever heard of—what the hell is he doing at Yuuei? How did we even get free anyways?"

"I believe that this was responsible." Tokoyami replied, holding up the boot that had hit Allen in the head.  
"That's my boot! But that means…that girl!" Allen exclaimed, snatching it out of Tokoyami's hands and examining it. "Woah, did she actually polish it? This looks really good…wait, that's not important right now! I gotta find her!"

"Two minutes remaining!" Midnight announced, "I hope you are all prepared!"

Allen activated his quirk to buy time and looked around feverishly before spotting Mei sitting against the wall, sulking with the other boot in her hand. In the blink of an eye, he zoomed over to her before deactivating his quirk. "Hey!" Allen said, getting her attention. "You still need a team?" He asked, holding up the boot, "It seems like I'm in your debt, and a deal is a deal, right?"

In a movement so quick it looked like she teleported, Mei was back on her feet and leaning into Allen's space with her unnerving grin at full force. "But of course!" she replied, handing over the matching boot. "That's just good business after all! What changed your mind?"

Allen shot a glare over at Shinso, who was wearing a smirk as a few glassy-eyed students—some of them from 1-A even—lifted him onto their shoulders. ' _Sucks for them, but I don't have time to help'_ "Let's just say I had some sense knocked into me." He replied before gesturing Tokoyami and Ojiro over, "Okay guys, we don't have much time, but this is our fourth, Hatsume-chan." Allen clapped a hand on Mei's shoulder. "Now, I understand that you have some equipment that might make things a little easier for us? Do you have anything that will help me pull us around at my pace?"

Mei began to cackle as she dug through the seemingly infinite confines of her bag. "I think I have _just_ the thing."

"Great!" Allen said, "Tokoyami, come here. It's a little last minute, but I want to try something interesting I found out the other day."

SEMPER FAST

" **All riiiight**!" Present Mic called out over the loudspeaker. " **Have you all formed your little teams? You better have! Weeeeee're starrrrrtiiiiiiing! Let's begin the countdown to the great clash!** **3**!"

"We're gonna crush that gaijin idiot! Total annihilation! Total victory! Kill kill kill!" Bakugo roared to his team from atop Kirishima.

" **2**!"

"We have only one target." Todoroki told his team, "You all know what to do."

" **1!** "

"Uraraka-san, Sato-kun, Koda-kun!" Midoriya barked, "Glad to have you with me! Everybody might be striving for the same goal, but…"

" **GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!** "

" _Those ten million points are ours/mine!_ " The other eleven teams yelled in unison as they all pounced in the direction of Allen's team.

"Ready, Tokoyami?" Allen asked with a grin as he stared down the advancing teams. "You know who we're going for, right?"

"I can venture a guess." Tokoyami said dryly, laying a hand on Allen's head. "How about you, Dark Shadow? Are you prepared?"

"Hell yeah!" the sentient being living inside Tokoyami's body replied.

"Okay, hold on tight everyone! Get us moving, Ojiro! I'm boosting now!" Mei had managed to dig up some kind of hover boots for herself and Ojiro, so Allen was able to maneuver them freely with his quirk without knocking them over. So, with that in mind, Allen went into his 4X boost and they shot through the hole between the advancing teams in a blur of motion.

" **Ooooh, and Team Tokoyami avoids the rush of foes with their ten million points still intact!** "

"Woah!" Ojiro said, as they he used his tail to help them come to a stop, "I can't believe that actually worked! Dude," he said to Allen, "you rock!"

"Haa…haa…haa…thanks. I…haa…haa…I really hope you got them Tokoyami," Allen wheezed, "because…I…haa…haa…I don't think I can do that again…shit."

Ojiro and Mei exchanged a concerned glance. "You okay dude? You aren't gassed already, are you?" While Ojiro and Mei handled supporting Tokoyami's weight for the most part, including himself, Allen was still pulling around a little over 200 kilos of weight. Ojiro used his freakishly strong tail to stop them and get them moving from rest, but it was hard work dealing with all of that inertia.

Allen shook his head as he desperately gasped for air. Nevertheless, he kept moving—the enemy wasn't going to wait on him to catch his breath. "I…can keep going…but…boosting other people with me…makes the stamina drain…so much worse."

"No need to worry." Tokoyami replied with a smirk as he held up the five headbands that he had snatched in that initial blitz and fastened them to himself inside out while changing up their order to protect which one was which. "I was successful…mostly. From this point on, you shouldn't use your quirk unless we're stationary. If you boost me, I can focus on defense while you preserve your endurance as much as you can."

Allen nodded. "Good idea."

"Your quirk really is amazing," Ojiro said with a hint of jealousy in his voice, "I would have never guessed that you could use your quirk on someone else like this."

Truthfully, neither would Allen—after years of buying and constantly having to reset his watches because of the way they would get ahead, a simple observation from Midoriya made Allen want to slap himself for missing something that was, in hindsight, so obvious.

(Three days ago, Dagobah Municipal Park Beach)

"You're late!" Allen growled at his friend when he jogged into view wearing a light green tracksuit. "I've been here for nearly fifteen minutes! You're the one who invited me, dammit!"

"Huh?" Midoriya replied, "No I'm not." He pulled out his phone and showed it to Allen. "See? 17:00, right when I said I'd be here!"

"17:00? But my watch says…" Understanding dawned on Allen's face. "AHHHH DAMMIT!" He cursed, "Fucking always with this shit!" Allen muttered angrily as he reset his watch for what seemed like the fifth time that week—sure, he might have been overreacting to what was, in reality, a very minor nuisance, but it just _kept happening_ and it was wearing on his nerves. "I swear; it's like this has been happening more and more lately—I'm so fucking sick of it."

At those words, Midoriya's eyes widened in realization. Allen had had problems with watches being fast as long as he had known him, but it had been a rare enough occurrence that he never really thought about it—but if it was happening more often since he had entered Yuuei, then that meant… "Allen!" Midoriya shouted excitedly. "It's your quirk!"

"What's my quirk?" Allen asked, "What are you talking about?"

"The reason why your watches are always fast!" Midoriya exclaimed, "Your quirk doesn't just speed up _your_ time, I think it speeds up the time of _whatever else you're touching as well_!"

"Hmmmm," Allen scratched his head, "maybe. But how come I haven't boosted anyone else in any of my spars? I think I would have noticed by now if that were the case."

"Hmm, you always wear gloves, so maybe there has to be skin contact?" Midoriya theorized, "And you pretty much never use your quirk when you're grappling because you said it would tire you out too fast…actually, let's just test it!" Midoriya took off his jacket and offered up his arm. "Grab onto me and use your quirk!"

"Okay," Allen replied, taking Midoriya's arm and turning on his quirk to 8X for good measure, "but I don't think that—"

"Whoa!" Midoriya breathed in awe—in a completely normal sounding voice at regular speed in Allen's ears. He was watching the ocean waves crash down onto the beach in slow motion. "So this is what the world looks like to you when you use Fast Forward? This is so cool!"

Allen let go and turned off his quirk—he felt a little uncharacteristically lightheaded, but he figured that might just be from shock of being unaware of such a fundamental aspect of his quirk for so long—it's not like he did anything besides just stand there. "…Are you freaking kidding me?" He asked nobody in general. "I could do this the entire time!" He shook his head. "Whatever. Let's just get this workout started already, we're burning daylight here."

"What?" Midoriya looked at Allen in shock—he already had his notebook pulled out and everything. "You don't want to experiment with this some more?" He asked, "This is a big discovery! I'd want to learn everything I can as soon as possible!"

"Ehh," Allen made a 'so-so' gesture with his hand, "maybe later. It's _really_ easy to overdo it with my quirk, so I'd rather not strain myself before the tournament. Let's just run like we planned."

Midoriya tried to hide his disappointment as he stowed the notebook back in his bag and put his jacket back on. "Sure, I guess."

"Oh stop sulking." Allen said, "It's not like it's your quirk."

(Meanwhile, at the Cavalry Battle)

" **Oooooh! What's this? Despite already possessing the ten million point headband, it seems that in their rush to escape, Team Tokoyami managed to get ahold of FIVE other team's headbands in the blink of an eye! One of them was even from a team of their own classmates! What ruthlessness! Eraserhead, what do you think is going through their minds with such a strategy!"**

" **There are times when attacking is the best defense. Nobody even considered the possibility that Team Tokoyami would go for their headbands. That being said, they've only gone and made themselves an even bigger target than before."**

" **It's a bold strategy Eraserhead; let's see if it pays off for them."**

(With Team Bakugo)

"Bakugo!" Ashido gasped, "Our headband! It's gone!"

"WHAT!" Bakugo shouted, slapping a hand to his head and realizing that it was indeed gone. He searched around wildly for the culprit. "How did…?" His eyes widened when he saw a tired looking Allen grin at him, point up at the several bands draped around Tokoyami's neck, and flip him the bird before taking off.

"Who's the retard now biiiiiiiitch! Muhahaha!" Allen cackled as they kept moving away from the advancing teams.

Bakugo's pupils contracted to the size of pinpricks, his eye began twitching and his face went purple with rage. The rest of Team Bakugo exchanged concerned looks—this didn't bode well for anyone. "Uh, dude?" Kirishima said, "You need to stay calm, alright?"

"That…mother FUCKEEEEEEER!" Bakugo yelled, "I'm gonna slaughter him!" He pounded on the hardened head of Kirishima, and fired off two explosions into the air. "Hurry up and get us over there, stupid hair! I gotta make him PAY!"

(With Team Midoriya)

A couple dozen meters away, Team Midoriya was busy making their endgame preparations.

"Allen…seriously, why do you _always_ have to antagonize him like that?" Midoriya asked with a weary expression as he watched Bakugo launch himself into the air and let off a massive blast that Tokoyami's shadow ate with a whimper. He looked down at Koda from his perch. "How's everything going, Koda-kun? What's our time frame here?"

His taciturn classmate had a small drab-colored bird on large hand that he was whispering to, and after a few seconds he released the bird, turned his stony features towards Midoriya and smiled, giving him a thumbs up and then flashing five fingers twice before giving the 'so-so' gesture.

"Around ten minutes or so?" Midoriya asked. Koda nodded. "Great!" Midoriya grinned, "Let's keep it up guys, we only get one shot at this, so the more we can get the better."

(With Team Todoroki)

Iida was mortified as he watched Allen taunt Bakugo into a frothing, apoplectic frenzy. "As class representative, this deplorable behavior is a failure of leadership on my part!" He lamented, "And to think—my brother even took the day off to come and watch me! How can I show my face to him now?"

"I don't think anything short of a miracle could keep those two from being at each other's throats, Iida-san." Yaoyorozu consoled him, "But more importantly, did you see that just now? Tokoyami-san's shadow…it was moving like—"

"It was moving like Martin." Todoroki said. They had been near the back of the pack headed for Team Tokoyami when the battle began, so they had been able to just barely get out of range of Dark Shadow's blindingly fast attempt on their headband. After Kaminari let off a surge of electricity that stunned a nearby team of class 1-B students, he froze them in place with a wave of ice and casually snatched the headband from the rather attractive redhead on top of the formation. "It looks like he can use his quirk to enhance other people" he said, "that's going to be troublesome to deal with."

"Seriously?" Kaminari said with a worried look on his face. "Tokoyami's quirk is crazy good as it is…now it has super speed too?" He shook his head. "That's practically unfair."

"It's hardly unbeatable though," Yaoyorozu added with a thoughtful expression, "quirks like that never come without a drawback—Martin-san once told me that using his quirk dramatically decreases his stamina."

Todoroki raised an eyebrow at her. "He said that?" ' _Why would he voluntarily tell someone his weakness?'_

Misunderstanding Todoroki's question as doubt towards the verbiage, Yaoyorozu coughed and a small blush appeared on her cheeks. "Well…his exact words were actually that using it 'wears him the fuck out', but you get the idea. My point is, using his quirk is very tiring for him, and since we just finished the race with very little time to rest..." She trailed off meaningfully.

"We can wear him down." Iida said with a grin that was just a bit vindictive.

"And when he crumbles, so does their whole team." Todoroki said. "Get ready to move. It's a non-stop assault until we get those ten million points."

"I was going to say that…" Yaoyorozu grumbled under her breath, "I was just pausing for dramatic effect."

SEMPER FAST

" **There are only three minutes remaining!"** Present Mic's voice echoed out across the stadium, **"And boy are things looking a little one-sided! Despite being attacked from all sides, Team Tokoyami has managed to hold onto all of their points in a splendid display of perseverance! What fierce competitors!"**

"He says that," Allen said weakly, his legs were trembling and he was seeing dark spots in his vision, "but I can't keep this up much longer guys…If I keep using my quirk like this, I think I'm gonna pass out."

While just about everyone had been dead set attacking them, Team Todoroki had been particularly persistent, and Allen could have sworn that they were actively trying to wear him out. Iida was running suspiciously slowly, keeping them far enough away that they could react to the threat of a boosted Dark Shadow with Kaminari's electricity, but close enough that Allen could never stop to catch his breath lest he get caught by Todoroki's ice. The only upside was that Todoroki managed to keep Team Bakugo at bay as well.

"We're almost there, man!" Ojiro encouraged him, "Just hang in there a little while longer!"

"Hahaha gotcha!" A familiar nasally voice called out from behind them. Team Tokoyami turned to see Mineta grinning out from the inside of Shoji's limbs as his powerful arms closed around them like a bunker. "Good work, Tsu-chan!" He said, "You've got some skills with that tongue of yours! Hehehe."

Asui sighed, Mineta's plan had been a legitimately good one, which was the only reason she agreed to join the lecherous little cretin's team. "That's Asui-san to you, and someone had to do something after you somehow managed to lose our headband."

Mineta looked stricken, "That's cold, Tsu-chan, after we went through USJ together."

"If it bothers you, then you should have kept your hands to yourself, ribbit."

"What!" Tokoyami cried, "When did they…? Damn! Sorry everyone, they got one of the bands!"

"Shit!" Allen cursed as he forced his trembling limbs to move. He wasn't going to let something like being tired keep him from winning here. "Did they get the…?"

"No, but it was a big one." Tokoyami said, "Moving the headband was a good plan, but we might not be so lucky next time!"

"Then let's make sure that there isn't a 'next time'!" Allen said. At that moment, a shadow passed over the sky, and over the cheers of the crowd, a distinctive chirping noise could be heard and was gradually growing louder.

"Uh, guys?" Ojiro said, "Is it just me, or is the sky getting dark all of a sudden?" The team looked up at the sky and saw a gigantic mass of dark shapes swirling above them.

"Those sound like…bush warblers," Tokoyami said, "but their migration season is months away, why would…?"

"Look out!" Mei cried. Their moment of distraction was all that Team Todoroki needed—in a flash of speed beyond anything even Allen had demonstrated before, Iida blazed past them and Todoroki managed to snatch three of their headbands.

"The ten million!" Tokoyami exclaimed, "They got it!"

"This is our win, Martin-kun!" Iida said with a grin, "Looks like you were just too slow!"

" **And in a shocking reversal of fortunes, Team Todoroki has just taken the lead by storm! With this, Team Tokoyami falls to 2** **rd** **place with Team Mineta trailing closely behind! Can this match get any more thrilling, listeners? Hmm? What's that, Eraserhead? Something in the sky? What?"**

(With Team Shinso)

"Looks like somebody else has the main prize now," Shinso said with a grin, "Now's my chance to have them politely hand it over…what the…?" Distracted by the gradually growing clamor above them, Shinso looked up and frowned at the darkening sky. "That's weird. There weren't any clouds here a moment ago—what the heck is that?"

"Aaaagh!" Jiro cried from the front of the horse, as she snapped out of her entranced state. "It's so loud!" She looked around, "Huh? What's going on? Who are you?" She asked Shinso.

"Tch." Shinso clicked his tongue, ' _No point in putting her back under if the noise is enough to wake her up. It's just as well, her quirk is probably better under her control anyways.'_ "I'm your teammate," he said, "we lost our headband and we need to get it back. Can you help me do that?"

Jiro nodded, "We're gonna have a little 'talk' about how I got here, but obviously! I wanna win too!"

(With Team Bakugo)

"DIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIE!"

"Awesome!" Ashido grinned as Bakugo snatched yet another headband away from a team that made the mistake of getting in their way. "With this, we have enough to make the tournament for sure!"

"Shut the fuck up, Raccoon Eyes!" Bakugo snarled, "We're not done yet! I want a total, indisputable victory! We're taking that headband from the half-and-half bastard and we're taking first!"

"Hell yeah!" Kirishima cheered, "If you're a man, you always gotta go for the win!"

"Hey guys?" Sero asked, staring at the swirling mass above them, "I hate to distract you from your little bonding moment, but are those…birds in the sky?"

"Hmm?" Bakugo said, before he looked up and his eyes widened. "What the fuck?"

(With Team Midoriya)

"Looks like the cavalry has finally arrived. I was getting worried there for a moment." Midoriya grinned. "Great job Kouda, this is even better than I thought! Your quirk is amazing!"

Kouda smiled and nodded. "It's nice to be appreciated." He said, surprising everyone.

"YOU CAN TALK!" Uraraka shouted in shock, making Kouda rub his hears from the volume. "Oh, sorry," she apologized, "It's jus', nobody's heard ya speak all year."

"Never mind that," Sato said, "it's time for the finale! Let's get in there and win this thing!"

For those fortunate enough to be watching the festival on TV, the next two minutes were terribly boring, as all that could be seen of the field was a swirling cloud of light brown. For those in the stands and on the field—it was a scene out of a horror film. The entire field was filled with tens, maybe even hundreds of thousands of birds, chirping, pecking, scratching and generally making a nuisance of themselves.

"Tokoyami!" Ojiro yelled, "Protect the headbands! This has to be somebody's quirk!"

"I know!" Tokoyami replied, "This has to be Koda's doing! He can communicate with animals!"

"This is fucking _Koda_!?" Allen yelled in disbelief, trying in vain to swat away the avian assault, "Christ! Remind me to never piss him off!"

"FUUUUUUUCK! FUCK OFF YOU WINGED FUCKS!" Bakugo screamed, letting off a nonstop series of tiny explosions.

"I swear to god Bakugo if you're killing these innocent birds…" Ashido threatened him.

"Innocent my ass!" Bakugo hollered back, "And what kind of person do you think I am? I fucking love goddamn animals! I'm only scaring them away with noise you curly–haired twit!"

"You sure you want me to answer that question?" Ashido growled.

"Bakugo likes animals?" Sero asked Kirishima, who merely shrugged.

Soon the buzzer indicating the end of the match rang out, and the birds departed as quickly as they had arrived, leaving the arena completely covered in feathers and bird droppings. After everyone took a moment to collected their bearings, they were greeted by a sight that nobody expected: Team Midoriya was holding the ten-million points, and Todoroki was staring pensively at his left hand.

" **What a shocking end to an action-packed battle!"** Present Mic shouted, **"Under the cover of the mysterious flock of birds, in a reversal nobody saw coming, it's Team Midoriya who holds the ten million points! Ladies and Gentlemen! We have our 16 finalists!"**

1st Place: Team Midoriya: Midoriya Izuku, Rikido Sato, Uraraka Ochako, Koji Koda

2nd Place: Team Todoroki: Todoroki Shoto, Iida Tenya, Yaoyorozu Momo, Kaminari Denki

3rd Place: Team Bakugo: Bakugo Katsuki, Ashido Mina, Sero Hanta, Kirishima Eijiro

4th Place: Team Tokoyami: Tokoyami Fumikage, Hatsume Mei, Mashirao Ojiro, Allen Martin

 **AN: If the ending to this seemed rather sudden, it's because I'll be covering what happened in the swarm of birds next chapter. As usual, any reviews would be appreciated. Until next time.**


	15. The Tournament Begins! Midoriya vs Ojiro

Chapter 15

The Tournament Begins—Round 1: Midoriya vs Ojiro

Unbeknownst to the crowd or the twelve teams trapped within the swirling mass of birds, the flock that filled the stadium actually had a target. As bad as it was for everyone else, Team Todoroki had it even worse—the birds attacked them relentlessly, scratching, pecking and dive bombing them in such numbers that they couldn't see, let alone react.

"S-shit!" Kaminari yelled as he covered his head with his hands, "Guys! Get the insulation ready! I'm dropping these pests already!"

"You're going to kill them if you do that!" Yaoyorozu objected, "They're just animals, and it's not like anyone will be able to get us through this mess anyways!"

"What?" Kaminari shouted back, "Are you kidding me? They're just birds! You got any better ideas?"

"She has a point," Todoroki said, "Nobody is going to be able to find us in this mess, our best option is to just lie lo—what the…?" Without warning, the birds attacking them dispersed, forming into a dome of open space about three meters across. Every second or two, a solitary bird would dive bomb Todoroki's head—it was annoying, but much more manageable than before.

"Huh? What's going on?" Kaminari asked, "Why are they backing off?"

"I assume it's because of them." Yaoyorozu said as a noticeably unruffled Team Midoriya stepped into the open space.

"So this is _his_ doing." Todoroki said, narrowing his eyes at a nervous looking Koda as he swatted away another bird swooping at his head, "Looks like this is their final move. It was a good plan, but calling off their birds was a mistake. At this distance, all of the electricity will ground through them. Do it, Kaminari."

"Hell yeah!" Kaminari grinned and began letting off sparks. "Sorry in advance guys—this is going to hurt!"

"Koda, now!" Midoriya yelled as soon as Team Todoroki began its preparations to attack. At Midoriya's prompt, four hawks hidden in the flock swooped in at blistering speed and shredded the insulated blanket with their talons.

Yaoyorozu, Iida, and Todoroki paled. "Kaminari don't!" They cried simultaneously, but it was too late.

"Indiscriminate Shock!" Kaminari yelled and let off a massive burst of electricity that took the path of least resistance—by grounding out through the team attached to it. The team shouted in pain as thousands volts of electricity passed through them, incapacitating them and making them twitch uncontrollably.

Todoroki clenched his teeth and forced himself to look in the direction of the enemy team. His eyes widened when he saw Midoriya's hand headed towards his left side with blinding speed, covered in what looked like green lightning. ' _No!'_ he thought, and in an impressive display of resilience, managed to swing his left arm to ward off the approaching threat despite his spasming muscles. In his desperate panic, he accidentally activated his fire only to see it extinguished by a flick of Midoriya's hand, which was wreathed in sparking energy. ' _What? No, I didn't mean to use that!"_ The hand returned and snatched the coveted ten million point headband from around Todoroki's neck.

"Yes!" Midoriya shouted, "I got it! Let's get out of here!"

Just then, the buzzer rang and the round came to an end. The birds quickly departed and left the stadium covered in feathers, bird droppings, and sadly, a decent number of tiny bodies that had been caught in the crossfire of some of the panicked students' quirks.

 **"What a shocking end to an action-packed battle!"** Present Mic shouted, **"Under the cover of the mysterious flock of birds, in a reversal nobody saw coming, it's Team Midoriya who holds the ten million points! Ladies and Gentlemen! We have our 16 finalists!"**

SEMPER FAST

The exact second that the buzzer sounding the end of the Cavalry battle rang, Allen unceremoniously dropped to the ground and lay on his back. He draped an arm over his eyes to block out the sun. "Did we make it?" Allen asked in a weary voice. "Please tell me we made it…and that Bakugo didn't."

"We made it." Ojiro answered, "Just barely, though. We beat Mineta's team for fourth place by 20 points. Bakugo's team got third. Also, you're lying in a pile of bird shit, Allen."

"That sucks." Allen replied with no energy or emotion in his tone before groaning, "Ugh, Captain Explodo-douche isn't gonna let me hear the end of this any time soon." It was fortunate that there was going to be a two hour break before the tournament started, because it was very apparent that extending his quirk to someone else had severe consequences—essentially doubling the rate at which he acquired fatigue. Even when he wasn't the one moving, it exponentially increased his mental fatigue and sapped his willpower. Right now, Allen's brain felt like he had just done about five straight hours of studying. Combined with his extreme physical fatigue, Allen was no condition to fight anyone for the time being.

"Mufufufufu, excellent work Customer-san, everybody!" Mei cackled, "Your efforts will make it possible to show off my babies on a grand scale! I couldn't ask for a better situation!"

"Allen." Allen corrected blandly. "My name is Allen." He yawned, "…and they have names too, I guess."

Ojiro and Tokoyami shared a glance. "He guesses?"

"Are you okay, Allen?" Midoriya's voice sounded out from above him.

Allen uncovered his face and saw concerned green eyes staring down at him. "[Tired.]" He grunted in English before rolling back over—he didn't even have the strength to congratulate his friend. "[Wanna sleep. Go away.]"

Midoriya had a sinking feeling in his gut—it wasn't a good sign that Allen couldn't even summon the mental capacity to speak Japanese. He tried to reason with him. "You can't sleep on the field Allen. They're having other events here."

"[Good for them.]" Allen groaned, not budging.

Midoriya frowned. Maybe a different line of reasoning would work. "If you get up," he cajoled, "there's a clinic with a bed you can rest in until we start the tournament…also, you know you're lying in bird crap, right?"

"[So I've been told. Staying…here.]"

"Come on Allen, stop being difficult. They'll be announcing the seeds for the tournament in just a few min—"

" _ZZZZZZZZZZZ."_ The sound of Allen snoring pierced through Midoriya's words.

"That's unreal," Ojiro said with a laugh, "no matter how tired he is, how can he sleep with all of this noise?"

"I'm worried." Midoriya said with a frown, "He only gets like this when he's pushed his quirk to the utmost limit—with how much he's been working on his stamina, he shouldn't be this worn out yet. In this condition, he might have to bow out of the tournament altogether."

Ojiro frowned, "Damn, that really sucks. He did way more for the team than I did. Having to sit out after dragging us all around like a pack horse is really unfair."

Midoriya shook his head—it was just like Allen to pull a stunt like that. In middle school, he always won the three legged race by simply picking up and carrying his partner. He called Uraraka over, "Hey, Allen's in pretty bad shape. I need to get him to a bed, would you mind…?" Midoriya trailed off.

Uraraka nodded, "Sure thing!" She chirped, and tapped Allen, rendering him weightless.

Midoriya picked Allen up effortlessly and put him on his shoulder. "Thanks." He said while Allen broke out into snores. "Your quirk really is great for rescue type operations, Uraraka-san. Moving dead weight as big as he is would have been a major hassle."

Uraraka beamed. "Thanks, Deku-kun! Good ta know that I'm appreciated! Is he okay by th' way?"

Midoriya chuckled nervously and blushed a little under the force of Uraraka's bright smile—he was better than he used to be about that, but it was still a challenge for him to keep his composure when that much concentrated cuteness was sent in his direction. "Haha, y-yeah he's probably just tired from his quirk...a-anyways, I uh, I should get him to the clinic now."

"Midoriya." Todoroki's voice stopped Midoriya in his tracks. "I need to speak with you. Alone."

"Do you need to right now?" Midoriya asked before pointing at Allen, who was drooling on his shoulder as he snored. "I'm a little busy at the moment."

"You know you could just tell Midnight and they'll bring him a stretcher, right?" Todoroki pointed out.

Midoriya hesitated, "That's a little…A-Allen wouldn't want to be seen getting hauled away on a stretcher." He shook his head, "I've got this."

Todoroki sighed. Even unconscious, Allen somehow managed to irritate him. "Fine," Todoroki said, "I'll come with you. I'd rather get this over with sooner rather than later. Give me his other side; he's so big you'll bump into things without help."

"Thanks!" Midoriya said gratefully, weightless or not, maneuvering a body that big would have been challenging on his own.

(SEMPER FAST)

Sometime later, Allen blearily opened his eyes and yawned. "Hmm?" He said as he looked around at his surroundings. "Where am I?"

"Oh good, you're up." An elderly voice said before a hard object whistled through the air and smacked Allen upside the head.

"OW! What the fuck?!" Allen exclaimed, "Did you just throw a fucking _clipboard_ at me?"

"I don't know," Recovery Girl answered with a sour look on her aged face, "did you overuse your quirk and overexert yourself again, and land yourself in my clinic _again_ , despite my _explicit_ instructions? Also, watch your language, I'm your elder and a lady, have you no respect?!"

Allen laughed sheepishly. He rubbed his aching head and was unable to make eye contact. "Uhhhhhh…maybe?"

"Then _maybe_ I threw the clipboard at you." Recovery Girl said, "You have a couple of minor scrapes and bruises that I'm going to leave unhealed." She looked at her watch. "By the way, you have about 3 minutes to make it down to the arena and talk to the judges if you don't want to be disqualified from the tournament."

"What!?" Allen exclaimed in alarm. He tried to hop out of the bed in a panic but was tripped by the sheets ensnaring his legs and fell flat on his face. "Fuck!"

"Language!" Recovery Girl barked, though the expression on her face was more amused than angry.

Allen grumbled a half-hearted apology as he hastily slipped on his boots and tied them haphazardly. He was tempted to use his quirk to get down to the judging station, but he was still pretty tired. After the day he had, a nap simply wasn't going to cut it. He needed to save every last drop of stamina for the fights ahead, so he jogged down to the podium where Midnight was chatting with Cementoss and reported in. "Allen Martin present and ready to compete!" He said, heart pounding with anxiety over whether he made it in time or not.

The two pros gave Allen a weird look. "We know," Midnight said, "Recovery Girl radioed down ahead to tell us that you were fine. You'll be facing Iida Tenya in the fourth match. Get up to the stands, the first match will be starting soon."

Allen ground his teeth as he pictured Recovery Girl chuckling to herself over her little practical joke. "I see," Allen replied in a strained voice, "thank you. I'll be going now." He stiffly turned and walked away.

Midnight and Cementoss stared at Allen's back as he left. "I wonder," Cementoss mused, scratching his blocky head with an equally blocky finger, "if he knows that he's got bird droppings all over his back?" Midnight snickered in response.

On his way up to the stands, Allen passed Midoriya. "Oh shit!" He said, "You up first Midoriya?"

Midoriya nodded. "Yeah," He replied, "I'm fighting Ojiro-kun. Good to see you up and about, I was worried."

"Thanks!" Allen said. "I owe you one for getting me to a bed." Allen lowered his voice, "Be careful," he warned, "Ojiro's tail may not be very flashy, but it hits even harder than my dad does, and in terms of raw skill, he's a better martial artist than me. Don't underestimate him."

Midoriya shuddered, both he and Allen had puked from receiving one of Chris Martin's body blows more than once—the man did not fuck around when it came to training. "Thanks for the tip." Midoriya said, "But I was already taking this seriously…I have something to prove after all." Midoriya clenched his fists. "I'm not the same as I was during USJ. It's time to show everybody exactly what that means."

Allen clapped the smaller boy on the shoulder. "That's the spirit! Good luck!"

"Thanks." Midoriya said, he nodded in the direction of the exit. "I better get going."

SEMPER FAST

"Yo Allen!" Kirishima waved him over. "Come sit over here!" He gestured to an empty seat next to him.

Bakugo sneered, "I don't want that loser near me." He said, "Or you either for that matter! Get lost! I'm trying to get in the zone here!"

"Hahaha, classic Bakugo!" Kirishima laughed good-naturedly and slapped the irritable blond on the shoulder, eliciting a growl. "Yo Allen, what are you waiting for, an engraved invitation?" Allen shook his head and plopped next to Kirishima with a resigned grin. "You're pretty good friends with them both," Kirishima said, "who do you think is gonna win?"

"Monkey-boy has got this locked down." Bakugo said, "Deku hasn't got a fucking prayer, not with the shit control he has over his quirk."

Allen felt his hackles rise in anger. "Hey dickhead," he said, "you're talking about my friends, so watch your goddamn tone—and his name isn't 'monkey-boy', it's Ojiro." He turned to Kirishima. "I don't know who'll win." He said. "Ojiro is definitely the more skilled fighter, but you've seen the kind of insane power that Midoriya can pull out when he gets serious."

"Whatever." Bakugo scoffed, "All you have to do is avoid his attacks when he does that and then he's toast. You can't fight with broken limbs."

Allen didn't say anything in response to this—he didn't want to openly agree with Bakugo. He was pretty sure Midoriya planned to beat Ojiro by sacrificing a finger to blast him out of bounds, but as a regular sparring partner of Ojiro's he knew that the martial artist's impressive reflexes in combination with that tail of his gave him some serious mobility. If Midoriya thought he could simply blow Ojiro away with raw power, he had another thing coming. Allen gripped his seat's armrests tightly—as close as he and Ojiro had become, when it came down to who he was rooting for, it was no contest. He was team Midoriya all the way.

"Hey Allen," Kirishima said, "How _is_ Midoriya's control over that quirk of his coming? I pretty much never see him use it in class."

"I don't know," Allen answered, "For as much as he loves to talk about quirks, he's pretty closemouthed about his own. He said that he wasn't the same as during the USJ, so I guess we'll see what that means in a moment."

"Tch." Bakugo scoffed.

"Look, look!" Uraraka cheered excitedly from her seat, "It's starting! GOOOOO DEKU-KUUUN!"

SEMPER FAST

Midoriya focused on his breathing as he stepped onto the ring where Ojiro was waiting for him. The roar of the crowd seemed muted, but his footsteps thundered in his ears. The words of Chris Martin were clear in his mind. " _Midoriya, as far as I can tell, you've got the opposite problem that Allen does—where he doesn't think enough, you tend to overthink things to the point where you defeat yourself. Hold onto a winning image_. _If you can't clearly picture yourself winning the fight, chances are that you probably won't."_ "Hold onto a winning image…" Midoriya muttered, "I can do this, I can do this, I can do this, I'll win!"

"Muttering to yourself again?" Ojiro asked with a grin, "I don't know if that means you're really nervous or really relaxed. Even on a stage like this, you never change do you Midoriya?"

"Haha, I guess not." Midoriya agreed, returning Ojiro's grin, albeit a shaky one. "No hard feelings, right Ojiro-kun?"

Ojiro nodded, "Of course not. We're all here to win—if I lose here today, it just means that you were the better man…that said, I don't plan on losing!"

Midoriya nodded, his face set with determination. "Me neither."

"Aaaaan, how youthful!" Midnight cooed, and swished her riding crop, "Begin!"

At the call to begin, the two prospective heroes slid into their respective stances—Ojiro with his stern karate stance and Midoriya in the Muay Thai stance taught to him by Allen's father. For the first few seconds following the call to begin the fight, neither Ojiro nor Midoriya moved a muscle as the stared each other down, probing each other for openings. Ultimately, it was Ojiro who broke the standoff first, using his tail as a spring and launching himself forward, covering nearly 2.5 meters in the blink of an eye and firing off a superman punch that nearly took Midoriya's head off. 'Nearly' being the operative word, since Midoriya had sidestepped the blow by moving to Ojiro's right, and launched a countering check hook.

Ojiro's defense was strong though, and he rolled his shoulder to absorb the blow. However, he was still unprepared for the white hot jolt of pain that accompanied the reflexive counterattack, and he was sent stumbling by the force of the blow. " _What the hell was that!?_ " Ojiro thought as he regained his bearings, " _How did he have that much power from an ungrounded swing like that? That his felt like it came from someone more than twice his size!"_

" _It worked!_ " Midoriya thought, a humorless smile worked its way onto his face. " _Channel the power through my whole body on the exhale during the punch, then immediately release._ "

This was the method of using his power that had come to him thanks to his martial arts training. Punches, kicks, no matter what move it was, it involved the whole body, not a single muscle group, and so he set about working to incorporate his power usage into the explosive movements of his strikes. He still couldn't run, or keep control beyond a single move at a time—but it was a start.

Without wasting another moment, Midoriya launched himself towards the surprised Ojiro, and launched a flying knee that the tailed teen only avoided by dive rolling out of the way. "It won't be that easy!" Ojiro breathed, using his tail to propel himself from a kneeling position into a powerful side kick that connected solidly with Midoriya's midsection, making him grunt with pain as the impact sent a lance of agony to his core.

Ojiro's smirk at his successful attack was short-lived; however, when he felt Midoriya's hands close around his ankle and yank Ojiro forward, before wrapping his arms around Ojiro's leg at the knee, pinning the trapped limb against his body and driving his head into the tailed teen's hip. "Let me go!" Ojiro grunted, and lashing out with a panicked punch that Midoriya shrugged off before twisting his body, robbing Ojiro of his balance and slamming him roughly into the ground driving the air from his lungs. From there, Midoriya smoothly transitioned into a mounted position and wasted no time in taking advantage, raining One for All augmented blows upon his stunned opponent.

This assault only lasted for a few seconds before Ojiro gained enough presence of mind to use his powerful tail as a lever to fling Midoriya off of him. Ojiro wiped a trail of blood leaking from his nose as shakily pulled himself to his feet; observers could see that despite how short the exchange had been, Midoriya had done a great deal of damage—in addition to his bloodied nose, Ojiro's left eye was rapidly swelling shut and his gaze was slightly unfocused.

SEMPER FAST

"Holy crap!" Sero exclaimed from his spot in the bleachers, "You'd never know looking at him, but Midoriya is freaking scary in a fight!"

"He seems quite fond of that move where he mounts the opponent." Iida mused.

"Yeah!" Kirishima agreed with a spirited nod before turning to Bakugo, "Hey, isn't that the move that he used against you in the first hero class?"

"Hmph." Bakugo scoffed, crossing his arms and looking away with a glare, annoyed at the reminder of his near loss during the villain battle to the same technique.

Allen beamed. "Sure is—it's funny, when he started learning, he really wanted to focus on striking, cause he's an All Might fanboy, but he's actually way more talented at grappling. My dad says it's cause it's more cerebral or something."

Uraraka's cheeks ached as her face was split by her enormous grin, "This is so awesome! WOOO!" She shouted, "Go Deku-kuuun!"

SEMPER FAST

Several minutes had passed since that first exchange, and despite his earlier advantage, Midoriya quickly learned that the black belt Ojiro wore on his hero outfit was not merely a fashion statement as the two exchanged blow after blow leaving the two covered in bruises and breathing hard. Ojiro was both tough and skilled enough to turn things around in a split second, and as the match went on, his superior fighting experience allowed him to adjust to Midoriya's fighting style, to the point where the tailed boy was now winning most of their exchanges. " _Gotta keep calm!_ " Midoriya thought, willing his body not to clench up as he felt his hair rustle from the wind caused by Ojiro's tail passing through the space where his head previously occupied, " _It's not over until Midnight calls it, and it only takes one lucky shot!"_

Midoriya lashed out with an 8% powered left jab that Ojiro slapped aside with his tail—he quickly learned that his hands were insufficient for the task—before sinking a fist into Midoriya's stomach and turning his head slightly so that Midoriya's follow up right cross grazed only grazed Ojiro's left cheek, opening up a cut. Ojiro grit his teeth and pushed through the pain, bending forward sharply at the waist and collided his forehead with Midoriya's with a slightly sickening sound, stunning him enough for the tailed martial artist to snake his tail around Midoriya's waist and his hands around the back of his head, roughly pulling it down towards the ground as he used his knees and elbows to rain blows on his head, body and legs—wherever he could reach. " _Time to end this!_ " Ojiro thought as he put everything he had into the assault, " _I can't give him any time to think!_ "

After enduring nearly five seconds of this—guarding himself with his arms the best he could—Midoriya caught one elbow clean to the jaw that made his vision swim. " _I need to get away or I'm finished!_ " He thought, " _I didn't want to do this...but I have no choice!"_ Gritting his teeth, Midoriya mentally prepared himself for pain; he raised his right hand with his thumb and index finger in the 'flicking' position about 20cm away from Ojiro's chest, grimacing as he sent a 80% surge of One for All to the digit and unleashed it—holding back enough to avoid killing his classmate, but hitting Ojiro with a blast of wind with enough force to send the boy flying. "Aaaaah!" Midoriya cried out in agony as the concentration of power shattered the bone like he had set off fireworks inside of it, splitting the nail and making blood pour out of the abused limb. Ojiro spent nearly 2 seconds in the air before bonelessly hitting the ground and rolling out of bounds, unconscious.

For a moment, the crowd was rendered silent by the sudden reversal, and by Midoriya's unexpected display of power, but upon snapped out of their stupor with Midnight's spirited declaration of Midoriya's victory and erupted into thunderous applause. "Eh?" Midoriya said, looking around and blushing profusely at the downpour of approval and forgetting about his injured finger for a moment, rubbed the back of his head in a reflexive display of modesty. "Ahh!" he yelped as his finger sent a jolt of pain up his arm. "I better get to Recovery Girl…" he muttered, before bowing to Midnight and the crowd, making his way off the ring. "She's not going to be happy about me breaking my finger again…"

SEMPER FAST

" _Shit._ " Allen breathed as he watched Ojiro get carried away on a stretcher. "I hope that Ojiro is okay…I can't believe Midoriya let off one of those blasts at close range." Expecting a sarcastic or rude response, Allen eyed Bakugo, who surprisingly, had nothing to say, merely looking thoughtful instead.

"MMMMYEAH!" Kirishima yelled from beside him, rising to his feet out of emotion and surprising Allen—making him jump a little in his seat. "That battle was manly as hell!" He knocked his hardened fists together, making a satisfying _crack_ , "I'm totally fired up now! I can't wait for my fight to start!"

Sero let out a nervous laugh. "Speak for yourself…" he said, "it's my turn now, and I'm fighting _Todoroki_." His face was pale and his expression was that of someone on the executioner's block. The other student's around him winced minutely and gave him sympathetic looks. Sero wasn't weak, but still— _Todoroki_. There wasn't much a quirk like Sero's could do against someone who was a walking WMD.

Mineta walked up and patted the boy with the Tape quirk on the back in a consoling manner. "Try to nail him in his pretty boy face at least once!" He said, making the surrounding girls glare at him.

 **AN: It's been a little while, huh? Apologies for the delay, school has slowed down my available time to work, but also, I've been dedicating a lot of time to improving other skills, which has further reduced my writing time. Anyways, let me know what you think of the fight scene in the reviews. Was it realistic, or too short? Should I have included more details? What do you think about Midoriya's martial artist fighting style? Catch you guys later!**

 **Also, I drew a new cover image! (This is one of those other skills I mentioned)**


	16. A Matter Of Pride

Semper Fast Chapter 16: A Matter of Pride

"Welp," Allen said, clapping his hands and rising to his feet, "there's five minutes until the match starts. I'm gonna get some snacks." He turned to his friends, "You guys want anything? Kirishima? Uraraka? Iida? Tsu—" He reflexively turned to Asui, who was seated a few rows away from him and opened his mouth to extend his offer to her as well, but when their eyes met, the image of her frightened face flashed through his mind, and he quickly looked away, his voice strangled by shame. Disguising his slip up as a cough, he continued, "*ahem* Anyways, don't be shy, I'm buying." At the stricken look on Uraraka's face, he quickly added, "Don't worry about the cost, either. I came into some money just a few seconds ago…speaking of which..." Allen turned to Bakugo and held out a hand expectantly. Bakugo clicked his tongue in irritation and dug through his pockets pulling out a wad of currency and handed it over with an expression similar to if he had just swallowed a lemon.

Iida frowned, disapproval writ large on his angular face. "Betting money on your classmates…Allen-kun, Bakugo-kun, really? As your representative, I must—"

"I'll take a hotdog with extra ketchup, thanks!" Kirishima interrupted, and shot Allen a sharp-toothed grin.

"I'll take some candy, please!" Uraraka said, "I don' care what kind, long as it's not sour!" She furrowed her brow cutely in concentration. "Chocolate maybe."

Allen grinned victoriously at Iida, who sighed in resignation. "…I'll just take an orange soda, please…and thank you." He muttered before shaking his head with a small smile.

As Allen began moving to go get the various sundries, he glanced at the sulking form of Bakugo. As much as he hated the guy, he felt strangely guilty about taking his money and buying food for everybody nearby except for him. " _I gotta be nuts to even consider this._ " "…I don't suppose you want anything?" Allen asked, trying his best to disguise the distaste in his voice.

Bakugo's eyes widened marginally in surprise at the offer, and he glanced around to make sure that Allen was actually speaking to him. "What the hell are you playing at?" he asked suspiciously, "Trying to sabotage me with spoiled food or something?"

Allen rolled his eyes. "I don't need to do something like that to beat you." He replied, "I just felt like offering—it's called being nice, you should try it sometime. Now do you want anything or not? I don't have all day."

Bakugo scowled, "I don't need your goddamn charity, idiot. Fuck off."

"Fine," Allen replied, not particularly surprised by the answer, "have it your way."

With that pleasant interaction out of the way, he made his way up the stairs and went over to the concession stand with his good mood banished to the winds—though for once, this had less to do with Bakugo than the price of the food. "¥800 for a hotdog, ¥350 for candy, ¥300 for a soda! Seriously?" Allen exclaimed, outraged. He turned to the bored looking man working the stand, "You've got to be shitting me with these prices—this is highway robbery!" Including the nachos he wanted, getting all of the stuff he promised was going to wipe out all of his winnings, plus some.

The man rolled his eyes and turned his eyes to the TV monitor showing the ring. From the sound of the cheers, Todoroki and Sero had just taken their position in the ring and the match was going to begin any second. "It's stadium food," he said, voice completely devoid of sympathy, "I don't know what else you expected…are you going to order anything or not? There are other people here besides you." To accentuate his point, the man pointed to the mass of impatient people lined up behind him

"What's the holdup?" Somebody complained, "The match is about to start!"

Allen let out a frustrated growl—he couldn't fail to get the food now, not after offering it to his friends. " _Fine_." He said, feeling trapped, digging out wallet and placing his order, all the while shooting a glare at the vender, who looked thoroughly unimpressed with Allen's anger.

"Thanks for your business." The vender said in a flat tone, handing over the armful of treats. "Next!"

While Allen was walking back to his seat, his angry muttering was cut off when the stadium suddenly shook and the cheers of the crowd went silent in an instant. "What the fuck was that?" Allen asked aloud, and quickly made his way out of the corridor to the section where he was sitting. As soon as he stepped through the door into the sunlight his jaw dropped. "Wha…holy _shit_!" Sero was trapped inside of a freaking _glacier_ that Todoroki had made in an instant. All in all, the match had lasted less than ten seconds. Then the sympathetic calls of 'Don't mind!' started ringing out. "Damn…" Allen said, "poor guy."

Wordlessly, Allen handed each of his friends the snacks they had ordered and plopped down next to Midoriya, who had returned to their seating area while he was gone with a shell-shocked expression. " _I picked a fight with_ this _guy?_ " he thought, " _What kind of idiot am I?_ " Allen glanced at Midoriya, who had an uncomfortable expression on his face and his eyes widened in realization. " _Oh shit…Midoriya is fighting him next!_ " Allen swallowed hard and clapped a hand on Midoriya's shoulder, making his friend jump a little at the unexpected contact. "Uh, don't worry about it man," Allen said unconvincingly, unable to make eye contact. "I'm, uh…I'm sure you can take him no problem…oh, here." He handed Midoriya the sports drink he purchased for him. "Figured you could use some after your match."

Midoriya accepted the drink and after expressing his thanks he shook his head. "No, it's not that—I mean, I _am_ worried—but, I don't know…something about Todoroki's face just now seemed really sad."

Allen stared blankly at Midoriya for a few seconds, and then snorted. "Only you would be worried about the person you have to fight, even after seeing _that_. You're crazy, you know that right?"

Midoriya grinned. "You _are_ talking to the guy who decided to attack a villain with nothing but a book bag and good intentions."

SEMPER FAST

" **Yeeeeeeeeah! Is everybody ready**?"Present Mic asked the crowd as the two competitors made their way onto the field. " **Our last match sure was impressive! Hopefully this one will be just as dramatic…** it would be nice if it lasted a bit longer though. **Anyways! Our competitors are here! In one corner, wielding the power of electricity, 1-A's Kaminari Deeeeeenkiiiiii! Eraserhead! What's your take on this student of yours? Our listeners are dying to know!** "

A sigh echoed out over the loudspeaker, " **He's got a powerful quirk—his offensive capabilities are among the highest of his year. His application sometimes leaves something to be desired though, how he does during this event will be determined by his ability to adapt to any situation."**

" **Insightful! Our other student** **is the only one not from the Hero Course to make it this far—Yuuei's Support Department's Hatsume Meeeeeeeei!"**

" **I don't know much about this particular student, but amongst the staff, there is talk of her being the next big name in support tech development."** The sound of papers rustling sounded out over the speakers. " **Says here that in her time at Yuuei, she's already developed over fifty different support devices."**

" **Seriously?! That's incredible!"**

Kaminari whistled as he put his hand on his hip and gave a grinning Mei an impressed glance. "That _is_ incredible!" He wasn't the kind of guy to be intimidated by a smarter girl—partly because that would disqualify him from dating most of the ones at UA, but also as a matter of principle. He looked her up and down—she had decided to shed her tracksuit jacket, and tied it around her waist, revealing a tight black tank top that showcased her generous assets. "Smart _and_ gorgeous? It's my lucky day!" He shot her his best approximation of a charming grin. "Say, after I win, how about you and me go get something to eat? It'll be my treat."

"Sure!" Mei replied—not that she had any intention of dating him, but a free meal meant that she would have that much extra money to invest in her babies. "But I'll have you test out my babies first!"

Kaminari's grin threatened to split his face, so thrilled was he with her answer. "Don't worry babe, I'm sure we'll have plenty of time to test a lot of things!" His body began to let off sparks, "Because I'm ending this now! INDISCRIMINATE SHOCK!" With that yell he discharged all of his electricity at once, which raced towards Mei, but unexpectedly failed to touch her at all. "Gehuh…" Kaminari chuckled, his brain fried. "Wheeeeeeehuhuhbuhhah!"

Mei snickered, "I work with electronics all day, every day. The slightest static build-up could ruin some of my more delicate babies. I designed my clothes to repel electrical charges." Her eyes gleamed, "Now, since the match hasn't ended, let's take this chance to show off some of my—"

"Winner: Hatsume Mei!" Midnight cut her off.

Mei's eyes widened, "What? No it's not!" She protested, stamping her feet, "I haven't done anything to win! I still need to show off my babies!"

Midnight hid a smirk behind her riding crop, and pointed at Kaminari, who—in his "derp mode"—had mindlessly wandered out of bounds, giggling and giving the thumbs up. "You didn't have to; your opponent disqualified himself."

Mei's jaw dropped, and she stood in mute silence for a few seconds before her face grew red and she let out a sound similar to an angry cat. "DAMMIT!" She cursed, "I wanted to be done with this!"

"Tough break kid," Midnight said, "Now get lost, the next match has to begin soon."

" **Well that was…that uh…that happened."** In an unprecedented turn of events, Present Mic was rendered speechless for the second time in under an hour.

" **Kaminari-kun had no reason to use his entire supply of electrical power in this fight. There might not have even been a need to use it at all. It was exceptionally poor judgement on his part. He's going to be getting extra guidance after this."**

SEMPER FAST

"The fuck! Seriously?" Allen sputtered.

"What's wrong?" Midoriya asked. "You were laughing like a crazy person just a few seconds ago when Kaminari-kun got all…" he mimicked Kaminari's thumbs up pose and let out a 'wheee' "why are you upset now? Normally you can't wait to get up and take your turn."

"Well, yeah, but I didn't get to finish my nachos!" Everybody within earshot of this statement turned to stare at Allen incredulously. "What?"

"Dude…really?" Kirishima said, "You're getting worked up over your nachos?"

"Idiot." Bakugo muttered.

Ears going red, Allen felt the need to justify himself in the face of their collective disbelief. "I only got to eat half of them! By the time I get back, they'll be all cold and gross—these were ¥850!" Uraraka let out an involuntary gasp of horror at this revelation. "Thank you!" Allen said, pointing her, "At least someone appreciates my struggle here!"

Midoriya pinched his nose and shut his eyes tight, trying to fight the laugh threatening to escape from his throat. "Just…just go down to the ring Allen."

"Tch. Yeah, yeah," Allen muttered, pulling a pair of simple cloth gloves out of his pockets and pulling them on, "I'm going." He had checked with the judges earlier to see if they were legal, and was given the okay. He briefly stopped by Yaoyorozu's seat and handed her the rest of his nachos. "Your quirk is based on body fat right? Here, finish these for me. I won't be able to."

"Wait, I can't, I—" Yaoyorozu stopped speaking; Allen was already gone, headed towards the ring. "I'm lactose intolerant." She said to nobody in particular.

"If that's the case, I'll take them." Sato offered in the row behind her. "I'm pretty hungry, and I love me some cheese." Yaoyorozu handed them over. "Awesome, thanks!"

"Don't mention it." Yaoyorozu replied, still feeling vaguely uncomfortable. Lately, she had been increasingly bothered by Allen's friendly gestures. True, he hadn't made any kind of romantic overtures since she turned him down after he had asked her out a few weeks ago. He seemed to sincerely consider the whole affair as water under the bridge, but she couldn't help feeling guilty whenever he did anything nice for her. " _Although,_ " she thought, glancing over at Asui, " _that might have something to do with it._ "

SEMPER FAST

Allen cracked his knuckles and popped his neck as he walked out onto the field and took a step onto the concrete ring. He grinned. Everything he had done up till now in the tournament was for this moment in the spotlight. _This_ was where he belonged.

" **All riiiiiight! Let's get this show on the road! The last match had us dozing off, but if I know the students involved in this one—and believe me listeners, I do—then this is going to be the heart-pumping display we've all been waiting for! In one corner, we have the youngest son of the renowned Iida family, Iida Tenya! I've heard that his older brother, the Turbo Hero Ingenium—another UA alum, is here in the crowd today to cheer his little bro on! Gotta love that familial support!"**

Iida's serious expression didn't change as he continued his warmup stretches, but his ears did go a bit red as the crowd cheered wildly at the mention of Ingenium.

" **On the other side of the ring is one of UA's two American students, Allen Maaaaaaartin!"**

" _Oh?"_ Allen's eyebrows rose up in interest, " _I didn't know we had another American here. I'll have to meet them after this._ "

" **He's got size, strength, and a powerful and versatile quirk! It's no joke to say that Martin-kun is expected to go far in this tournament, provided he gets past Iida-kun of course!"**

Allen grinned at this introduction. Feeling bold, he stood up from his own warmup stretches and struck a pose, flexing like a pro-wrestler. Then he cupped his hand and put it to his ear, waving with the other one in a call for cheers, which the excited crowd happily provided.

Opposite from him, Iida let out a sigh—an action that, unbeknownst to him, was echoed by Allen's mother at her home on the base as she watched the match on the television.

"Honestly," Susan Martin said while her husband laughed on the couch next to her, "he must get this from you! I tried my best to teach him a hint of modesty!"

Present Mic let out a laugh at Allen's showboating. " **Looks like Martin-kun's got the show business aspect of heroics down! Looks like I'm a better influence than I thought!"**

" **Please don't corrupt my students with you nonsense."** Eraserhead chastised Present Mic in a flat voice before moving on. " **This fight is going to be an interesting one; both of them have quirks centered on speed—what this will come down to are their abilities outside of their quirks."**

" **Nice commentary Eraserhead!"**

Iida finished his stretches and stood up. "I suppose that even on a stage like this, you never change, do you, Allen-ken?" He asked with a chuckle. "It's funny. I can't even bring myself to be upset about it anymore."

"Of course not." Allen replied with a grin, "If you let something as minor as people watching you get you down, then you've already lost!" Allen walked up to Iida and extended his hand. "Let's have a good fight man."

Iida returned Allen's smile and grasped the offered hand, shaking it firmly. The crowd erupted into approving cheers at the display of good sportsmanship. "Indeed. I must admit, I've been looking forward to fighting you ever since the quirk assessment test."

Allen quirked an eyebrow. "Since then? Wow, you've wanted to try and beat my ass this whole time?" He joked. "I know we had our differences at first, but I thought we were good now?"

Iida shook his head, "No, nothing like that. I still take exception to your language and attitude sometimes, but you proved yourself a fine hero in my eyes long ago. No, this is about your quirk."

"My quirk?" Allen repeated, "What about it?"

Iida grimaced, "As much as it pains me to admit it, your quirk is superior to mine in many ways…" A ray of light hit Iida's glasses and reflected off them in a way that made his obscured his eyes, "but that just means that it will be even more fulfilling when I defeat you here today!" Iida looked off into the audience. "I had to beg my brother to take the day off from a very important investigation to come and watch me compete…all for the sake of _this_ match. Let's put our pride as men on the line and see who the true king of speed at UA is today!"

Allen grinned and took up a fighting stance as Iida set himself in a runner's pose. "Well, I can't say I don't like the idea. Let's do it Iida!"

"Mmmmm!" Midnight swooned, licking her lips. "Such youthful passion! It just makes me crazy! BEGIN!"

Iida didn't need to be told twice, and took off in an explosive sprint. In the blink of an eye, he cleared the distance between the two and lashed out with a blisteringly fast and powerful kick. It was only thanks to his years of experience fighting that Allen was able to avoid it, pirouetting out of the way of the straightforward attack like a bullfighter. Still, it was a close enough call that Allen's sleeve was scorched by the exhaust from Iida's engine. Allen watched Iida recover from his missed attack by landing on one leg and using it as a pivot as he used his exhaust to spin him around like a top in a move too smooth to be anything but the result of untold hours of practice. " _Holy crap._ " Allen thought; a chill ran down his spine. " _That was even stronger than Tsu-chan's kick…_ way _stronger…and his skill with his quirk is on par with_ Bakugo _. I better keep a boost going for the duration of the fight if I don't want to get pulverized."_

With that thought, Allen activated Fast Forward, deciding to stick to 2X as much as possible—after all; he still hadn't fully recovered from the exhausting slog of the cavalry battle. For the next few minutes, the fight proceeded along those lines—with Iida making relentless attacks and Allen narrowly dodging them—simultaneously scouting Iida to nail down his movements and fighting style while attempting to hit him with any counterattacks he could. Unfortunately, at the lowest levels of his boost, Allen couldn't do much: even at relative half speed, Iida was still faster than most people, and his form was nearly flawless, making it difficult to get in any effective blows.

On one of these attacks, Allen moved to dodge while throwing a counterstrike when all of a sudden, Iida's increased his engine output to increase his speed, changing his timing and clipping Allen's shoulder right shoulder with a bone jarring kick that made him gasp in shock at the powerful impact, knocking him out of Fast Forward. "Finally got you!" Iida shouted, a hint of frustration at his inability to hit Allen up till now easy to hear in his voice. Emboldened by this success, he went back on the assault, launching another flying kick that Allen avoided with a diving roll, sacrificing his footing out of his desperation to avoid another blow.

" _Dammit!"_ Allen cursed, " _The hell just happened? Did my quirk fail? No…that's not it—he just changed up is timing. That's it, screw conserving my energy; I need to end this now! He isn't slowing down at all—even constantly on the attack like this, he might outlast me!"_ Activating his 4X boost, Allen spun around and charged forward on the attack with a snarl determined to keep Iida from setting the pace. In a display of reflexes so impressive that Allen concluded that it had to be related to his quirk somehow, Iida managed to avoid the boosted flying knee and follow up long range right hook, but was caught by Allen's liver blow, doubling him over.

"You're mine!" Allen yelled, dropping out of Fast Forward after taking hold of Iida's shirt with his left hand. Allen dropped to his back and kicked his right leg against the side of Iida's left leg, above the knee, simultaneously pushing his leg out while pulling his upper body down and toppling the other boy over onto his side. Quick as an eel, Allen wrapped his body around Iida's left leg and slowly began to hyperextend the limb—not enough to damage it, but enough to hurt. "Give up!" Allen demanded, "Give up or I'll break it!"

"I…won't!" Iida growled, struggling to escape. His efforts were in vain—Allen simply had too much leverage over the limb.

Allen slightly tightened his grip on the limb, making Iida cry out in pain. "I'm not messing around with you, Iida! I'll break it if you don't give up now! You have three seconds! Three, two, on—AAAAAAAH!" In desperation to escape, Iida activated his engine, blasting Allen's chest and arms with several hundred degrees of exhaust, lighting his shirt ablaze and forcing him to release the trapped limb. The smell of scorched cloth and hair hung thick in the air while Allen writhed in pain. He tore the burning garment from his body in a fit of pain induced strength and rose to his feet, hyperventilating as adrenaline flooded him, dulling the pain. The crowd let out a collective wince at the sight of the reddened blistered and weeping skin.

Iida had risen shakily to his feet, and was heavily favoring his right leg—Allen hadn't broken the knee, but he had done quite a bit of damage before Iida managed to escape. However, any concern for his own injuries faded when he saw what he had done to his classmate in his fit of desperation, horrified at the burns that covered Allen's burnt chest and arms, Iida called out to Allen. "I—I'm sorry, I didn't mean…" Iida's face paled and he trailed off when he saw the look on Allen's face. It was hatred, pure, molten hatred and murderous intent.

Allen's eyes went cold and hard. " _You're dead._ " He growled. He took a single step forward, his body language exuding menace.

SEMPER FAST

Asui's stomach dropped at the sight of Allen's face. She was certain that she would never forget that particular expression, having been on the opposite end of it before. "This is bad." She croaked, rising to her feet, shoving her way through the crowd. "They need to stop this match!"

She was intercepted by Kirishima. "Whoa hold up there!" He said, blocking her path, "Calm down. Those burns look nasty, sure, but Recovery Girl's on standby and Allen's a tough guy, he won't let something like this stop him!"

"It's not him I'm worried about." Asui replied, glancing over into the ring.

SEMPER FAST

Iida opened his mouth to say something in reply, but Allen couldn't hear it—at the moment, he couldn't hear anything but the thudding of his heart in his ears. Activating his 4X boost, and running forward in a blur of motion, he smashed the hobbled Iida to the ground with a shoulder check, and delivered a vicious stomp onto the top of Iida's knee—his bad one. Iida let out a heart wrenching cry of pain grabbing the injured limb and cradling it with tears in his eyes. Then Allen soccer kicked him in the ribs. Then he did it again, and again, and again grinning savagely as he felt ribs splinter under his blows. Then he kicked him in the face. Blood spurted from Iida's nose and splashed onto Allen's cheek. It wasn't enough. He needed to make him understand. Allen mounted Iida and began to throw punches. He didn't see his comrade, his classmate of the last several months underneath him—at that moment, Iida looked like somebody else, somebody who had hurt him just like Iida did. " _I'll leave you something to remember ME by, you son of a bitch!_ "

 _Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. ._ Blow after blow rained down. Iida had been unconscious for some time now. The crowd and the judges were screaming at him to stop—but he didn't hear them. He didn't even know how many blows landed before he smelled something sweet and fell asleep—he had lost count—but it was a lot.

SEMPER FAST

Midnight looked chagrined as she released her quirk and pulled Allen off of his pummeled opponent. The crowd was so silent that you could have heard a pin drop. "Good grief." She said, looking at the battered scion of the Iida family and signaling the first aid team to bring over two stretchers. Iida was sporting two black eyes swelled up so badly that it couldn't mean anything other than two broken orbital bones. His knee was swollen and would most likely require several sessions with Recovery Girl by itself. His ribs were an ugly rainbow of color that Midnight suspected might indicate internal bleeding. "Poor boy looks like he got hit by a truck." She glanced over at the shirtless Allen, "He may have actually been trying to kill him."

Half of his chest and his upper arms were covered in a mixture of second and first degree burns. With Recovery Girl's presence as a factor, it really looked worse than it actually was—provided that he had the stamina for it, he could potentially fight in the next round after being treated. He wouldn't be winning any fans after that display, but he _had_ won the match, and it would require the agreement of all the judges to disqualify him. And honestly, knowing what he had been through, Midnight wasn't inclined to do so. For now, they needed to move on to the next match and lighten the mood, if it was even possible. She shot a significant look up to the announcer's booth.

" **W-well what an exciting match folks! Let's hear it for our two competitors!"**

The crowd let out a smattering of polite applause, but it was clear that their heart wasn't in it.

" **Coming up next: The Breakdancing Queen of Corrosion: Ashido Mina! Her opponent? He's the one responsible for the bird attack earlier! The Lord of the Animal Kingdom, Koji Koda! This is sure to be another white knuckle display of skill and power!"**

Asui, Midoriya, and Uraraka shared a meaningful look for a moment. Now was not the time to leave their friends-either of them, alone. Without a word, the three of them rose and quickly headed towards Recovery Girl's office.

 **AN: Knee bars are no joke; you really should have given up, Iida :( Weren't expecting this so soon, were you! I had the idea fresh in my head, and I had an unusual amount of free time, so here we go! As always, be sure to review and let me know what you think!**


	17. A Brief Interlude

Semper Fast Chapter 17: A Brief Interlude.

When Allen awoke, he sat up with a bolt and hissed with pain from the sudden movement. "Ah, _shit!_ " He looked down and saw his entire upper body from his chest to his elbows covered in bandages. "What the hell?" He asked aloud, disoriented. "What is…?" Unbidden, the hazy memory of what had happened during the match flashed through his mind. "Oh no…" he murmured, laying back into the bed as the horrified realization of what he had done sank in, "Iida…"

"My word," Recovery Girl exclaimed when she noticed that Allen was awake, "I can't believe that you're awake already! I was certain that you'd be down for the rest of the day! I had to regrow most of the skin on your upper body…what kind of vitality do you have, boy?"

"I've always recovered really quickly." Allen replied, "But that's not important right now! How…" he swallowed, "how is Iida? I was so angry…but I didn't mean to…is he going to be okay?"

Recovery Girl frowned—as UA's resident medical expert, she had been informed of Allen's anger problems since the USJ incident, but the reports from Aizawa had been mostly optimistic on that front—no major incidents. Now, they were going to have to take some kind of action. "Well, most importantly, he's in no danger—he'll make a full recovery with minimal complications."

Allen slumped over, relief evident on his face. "That's good. For a moment there I was afraid I ( _killed him)_ hurt him so bad he couldn't be a hero."

"Hmmph!" Recovery Girl sniffed indignantly, "Please, have a little faith in me I've treated worse injuries than that countless times before! However," she added in a serious voice that made Allen look up, "I'm not going to sugarcoat it, that quirk of yours let you beat him to a pulp before we could step in—you kept hitting him well after he had lost the ability to defend himself…you understand how seriously we have to take this don't you? Given the public nature of this as well, I can't promise that you'll be able to remain in the hero program at all."

Recovery Girl's words hit Allen like a physical blow—he was so relieved that Iida was going to be okay that he had forgotten for a moment that not only did his worst fears had come true, it had happened on national TV of all things. He doubled over, and his stomach contracted and tears stung his eyes. "I think I'm gonna throw up." He announced in a voice far calmer than he felt at the moment.

"I don't think you have to worry about that." Aizawa's voice rang out as he handed a wastebasket to the teen. "I'll vouch for you myself, if it comes to that."

Recovery Girl jumped a little in surprise and whirled on Aizawa, "I thought I told you to stop sneaking up on me like that! I'm old! You'll give me a heart attack!" She began hitting him with her walking stick—to very little apparent effect, as Aizawa merely stood there, stoically taking the assault without flinching or even batting an eye.

"Stop that." He said blandly, "I'm still injured. That hurts."

"It's supposed to!" Recovery Girl growled, "How else will you learn your lesson?"  
"Martin-san," Aizawa said, ignoring the ancient nurse. "We will be increasing the number of our sessions to twice a week."

"Uh, o-okay, thanks." Allen stammered, overwhelmed by this unexpected level of support following his actions. "But…what are you doing here?" Allen asked, "I thought you were supposed to be doing commentary with Present Mic-sensei?"

"I'm your staff advisor." Aizawa said, "As troublesome as you are, I agreed to make you my responsibility. I take that seriously." He turned to Recovery Girl, "Is he fit enough to go onto the next round?"

Recovery Girl sputtered in surprise, "You can't be serious!" She exclaimed, "How could you possibly consider sending him back out there after that display just now?"

"As long as he isn't medically unfit, that's my prerogative as his teacher and his advisor. Answer the question, please."

Recovery Girl huffed, "He's bound to be horribly fatigued, and his skin will still be tender and painful…I'd certainly advise against it, _vehemently_ …but there's nothing that I can reasonably medically disqualify him over if he himself wishes to continue."

Aizawa turned to Allen, "Well you heard her. Do you want to continue? It's up to you, it won't be held against you, no matter what you decide."

A part of Allen wanted to stop—it would be so easy—to give up then and there. He was exhausted. His whole body hurt. His limbs' felt like they were made of lead and his bed was horribly comfortable just then. ' _Maybe Recovery Girl is right,_ ' he thought, ' _should I really go out there again after what I just did? What if I freak out again?'_ He glanced up at Aizawa, who was watching him with his usual placid expression, but there was an edge to his gaze that wasn't usually there as if he was searching for something in Allen. "I want to keep going." Allen replied; putting Recovery Girl's irritated huff out of his mind.

Aizawa let out a small 'hmm' and nodded. "I'll let Midnight know." Without another word, he turned around and left the room. Midoriya, Asui and Uraraka and Ojiro entered the room as soon as Aizawa exited. Allen saw the worried look in their eyes and felt a surge of anger mixed with a healthy dose of self-loathing. Aizawa was one thing, but he really didn't want to face them after nearly another one of his friends half to death in a rage. Not yet. He privately hoped that Recovery Girl would make them leave, but she dashed those hopes by leaving the room herself—presumably to check on Iida—leaving him alone with his friends.

"Allen!" Midoriya began, "Are you—"

"Can we not?" Allen cut him off. "I appreciate the support, guys, really I do. But I…go check on Iida. I'm…fine. I just need a moment to myself. Really." Allen sighed as Midoriya, Uraraka, and Ojiro put their heads together, whispering. ' _Subtle guys. Real subtle.'_ They all nodded and Midoriya stepped forward speaking for the group. "Okay Allen." He agreed, "We'll give you some time to yourself if that's what you want—"

"It is." Allen interjected.

"Just…you know you're still our friend, right? We aren't going to hold this against you."

"Thanks." Allen replied in a tired tone, he was touched and happy that they felt that way, but an ugly part of him wished that they _would_ hold it against. ' _I don't deserve friends like them._ '

One by one, Uraraka, Midoriya and Ojiro left the room. The door closed behind them, leaving Allen alone in the room with Asui. Despite her impeccable poker face, Allen could see subtle signs that she was as uncomfortable as he was. Allen averted his gaze from her and stared at the wall, unable to look directly at her. He was afraid his composure would crack at any minute. He cleared his throat, which was locking up. "You're usually a better listener than this." Allen said, fighting with every fiber of his being to keep his voice from hitching. "I'm not just trying to act tough right now Tsu-chan. I really need to be alone right now."

Asui shook her head and stood her ground. "I'm not leaving."

Allen felt a flash of irritation. He was feeling so many things at once that he couldn't think—shame, anger, fear, guilt, sadness, regret. He didn't want to break down in front of her, his pride wouldn't allow it. He squeezed his eyes shut. "Please." he wheezed, he was desperately trying to keep himself together. "Please just go…I—" his chest hitched uncontrollably, "I c-can't…" his voice locked up and he stopped speaking, not willing to risk giving himself away any more than he already had.

Allen felt the bedsprings next to him shift and heard the rustling of the sheets as Asui sat down next to him and wrapped her arms around him. Surprised and also because of how tender his brand new skin was, Allen reflexively tried to pull away, but Asui's grip was gentle yet firm, not letting him go. Because of their height difference, her head only went up to his chest, so she could clearly hear the sound of his thundering heart as she gently pulled him against her. "It's okay." She said, "You don't have to say anything." For a moment, Allen merely sat there stiffly, uncertain of what he should do or how he should react, but he eventually wrapped his arms around and awkwardly returned the embrace—his seated posture made the action difficult, so he shifted Asui, practically pulling her into his lap so he could hug her without having to twist his body, and tightened his grip, clinging to her like a life preserver, pressing her head to his chest so that she couldn't see his face. They stayed like this for nearly ten minutes, neither of them speaking. The only sound in the room was the sound of Allen's breathing slowly transitioning from shallow and rapid to slow, deep breaths as he gradually calmed down.

While he held her, Allen became very aware of Asui's scent. Underneath the scent of his and her sweat from the long day of physical activity, she had a unique aroma that seemed familiar to him, but that he was having trouble identifying—but whatever it was, it was soothing. His mind still felt foggy and confused, but not unpleasantly so. ' _Rain._ ' He realized, unconsciously giving her a squeeze and resting his chin on top of her head, breathed in deeply. ' _She smells like the air after the rain.'_ Asui leaned in to the squeeze, pressing against him enough that Allen could feel the beating of her heart. While he idly stroked her hair, she let out a small sigh, and Allen suddenly realized just how intimate—and dangerous—this situation was.

' _We should really stop._ ' he thought—though truthfully, that was the last thing he wanted to do—for a solid minute, Allen fought a silent internal battle, his rational side mentally listing every reason why he should put a stop to this. At the same time, his raging teenage hormones were waging war against his judgement and willpower—Asui was soft, warm, and she smelled good. He felt so comfortable, so good, safe, even; he didn't want to let her go. The simultaneously soft, yet firm sensation of her chest pressed against him was maddening. He stared down at Asui's face; her eyes were closed, lips slightly parted and her cheeks had the slightest flush to themand she seemed so beautiful in that moment that he felt a surge of desire. ' _God, I want to kiss her right now._ ' It was this out of nowhere thought combined with an involuntary and unwelcome stirring feeling in his loins that that snapped Allen out of his daze in a hurry. This was not good.

"Ahem." Allen cleared his throat and released his embrace, prompting Asui to look up at him with lidded eyes. He held her gaze for a fraction of a second before having to look away, his cheeks burning. "Um…thanks Tsu-chan." He said awkwardly, trying to subtly scoot his butt backwards but unable to move any further. "I needed that. Y-you might want to get off me now though…I'm a guy, and this situation is a little…uh…" he trailed off, unable to articulate what was on his mind. "Uh, physically that is, I'm…uh."

Her mind was pleasantly foggy—she was tired too, and had slipped into a sort of half-sleep while listening to Allen's heart, so Asui blinked in confusion, unable to decipher what he was trying to say until she felt something stiff poke her in the hip. "Ribbit," she croaked, glancing down at the area where the feeling originated, "what's…this…" her eyes widened as realization set in, "oh…OH!" Having been given "the talk" by her parents years ago, she suddenly understood _very_ clearly what he was saying. Her cheeks lit up in an almost luminescent blush and she leapt off of the bed as if she had been burned.

Neither of the two teens could look the other in the eye. Allen raised his knees up so the offending appendage was hidden by the sheet. There was a very heavy silence. "Um…" he said, fervently wishing at that moment that his quirk was invisibility rather than super speed. "That was…that was just a natural physiological reaction. I…uh…I swear didn't mean anything by it…" he began rambling, mentally pleading with himself to just shut up already while the words spilled out. "You're a really nice, cute girl, and you smelled really good…I couldn't help it and…oh God…kill me now." He buried his face into his hands. "My carefully crafted 'cool guy' image is ruined."

Asui had been rocked by rocked by the back to back blows of being surprised by Allen's… little Allen…and the subsequent rambling but heartfelt compliments he rained down on her. As horribly awkward as this situation was, what had just happened was pretty convincing evidence that he found her somewhat attractive and that gave her a light feeling in her chest. Still, there was something she simply couldn't let go. "'Cool guy' image?" She snickered, taking refuge in humor to diffuse the awkwardness, "Is that what you think you've been doing?" She teased, letting out a croaking chuckle, "You're such a dork."

"Hey!" Allen protested with a sullen expression, his earlier angst completely out of mind. His expression grew crafty, "I'm a dork, huh?" he replied, deciding to pull out the big guns to tease her right back. "You sure looked awfully happy clinging to this dork. If I didn't know any better, I'd say that you enjoyed comforting me a little too much!" He grinned triumphantly, looking forward to seeing her flustered expression.

Asui put a finger to her mouth and smiled mischievously. "Hmm," she replied, looking thoughtful "I wonder."

Allen blinked. "Wait…really?" His cheeks flooded with color as her response sank in. Did that mean what he thought it meant? ' _No way. She has to be messing with me_!' "Uh, mind explaining what you mean by that, Tsu-chan?"

Asui smiled and turned around, her cheeks were flaming and her heart was racing from her implied confession. "You should come watch the next match if you're going to keep competing. I'll save you a seat." She began walking to the door.

Allen moved to climb to his feet and chase after her, but stopped when he realized that his little Allen was still standing at attention. He wasn't going anywhere while that was still happening. "W-wait a sec! Don't just drop a flag like that and leave the room! Tsu-chan! Tsu-chan!"

SEMPER FAST

Once he had gotten his…situation under control, Allen got out of the bed—and had to sit down immediately after standing up due to an immediate attack of lightheadedness. After he gathered his bearings, he slipped on the plain white T-shirt provided for him to replace his burned top and left the hospital room with trembling legs. He was already regretting his decision to continue in the tournament—a decision made while lying in his hospital bed with no idea that his body was so weak and tired from the combination of the intense physical exertion, extended use of his quirk and Recovery Girl's treatment that he could barely walk unassisted. In his current condition, he didn't think he could even last a full minute, let alone win a fight with any of the remaining competitors. Even if that weren't the case Allen doubted that he'd be able to focus on the match after had just happened between him and Asui. Allen didn't know how he felt about Asui—one hormonal reaction after some extended physical contact wasn't enough for him to suddenly declare his love for her or anything, but he did know that the moment they shared in the clinic was something that went beyond regular friendship. He sure as shit wouldn't have been cuddling happily with Midoriya, Ojiro, or Kirishima like that.

Well, before he could think about any of that, he had something important that he had to do first. As he approached his destination, he could hear the faint sounds of explosions ringing out over the sounds of the crowd in the background. Allen scowled. Explosions like that could only mean one thing: Bakugo was fighting someone…and probably winning too, the asshole. Allen couldn't remember at the moment who was supposed to be fighting him, but whoever it was, he was rooting for them.

Allen stopped in front of a closed door and hesitated. He was dreading this interaction with every fiber of his being, but he knew it had to be done. He took a deep breath, knocked, and entered. Sitting up, awake and alert, was Iida—he was wearing a nose splint and although the swelling had been reduced enough for him to see, he still sported two black eyes. A new pair of glasses was perched precariously on his nose splint in a way that, under different circumstances, Allen would have found funny—though he certainly wasn't in the mood to laugh right now. Iida was not alone, which wasn't surprising in and of itself, but the sight of a somber looking Yaoyorozu sitting next to the bed holding Iida's hand definitely threw Allen for a loop.

"Hey, Iida…-san." Allen added the honorific after a moment. Allen always knew that his refusal to use honorifics had annoyed the proper boy, but now…he didn't feel like he had the right anymore.

For a brief moment, Yaoyorozu glared at Allen but Iida squeezed her hand and met her eyes, shaking his head. Her gaze softened and she rose to her feet. "I'll be right outside." Yaoyorozu said, and shot Allen another glare as a warning. "You two better play nice." She bent over and gave Iida a quick hug before crossing the room.

"You don't have to worry." Allen said quietly as she passed. "That's not what I'm here for." Yaoyorozu gave Allen a fractional nod, and stepped outside, closing the door with a click that sounded deafening in the now oppressively quiet room.

The two boys merely stared at each other for a tense moment, neither knowing what to say until finally they both blurted out a perfectly simultaneous "I'm sorry!"

They went silent again for a second before Iida snorted in amusement and winced as the action inflamed his broken nose. Allen felt a twinge of guilt at the sight, which must have showed on his face because Iida shook his head. "Please do not look at me like that, Allen-kun." He said, "While you might have gone overboard at the end there—Recovery Girl says that I'll most likely have no lasting harm…" Iida looked away, staring at the wall, "I am not exactly blameless either, so please, let us forget about this and move forward."

"I can't forget about this." Allen said, "This isn't something that I can just sweep under the rug, Iida-san." Allen dropped his gaze and stared at the floor, "My memory of the details of last few seconds of the match is pretty hazy, but I remember how I felt…I wanted to hurt you…I enjoyed hurting you." Allen took a deep breath after making this admission. In his mind, that was the worst aspect of this whole fucked up situation. Even if it was only for a moment, he was trying to kill his friend—and loving every moment of it. Just the thought of it now made him want to vomit.

Iida took in this admission with surprisingly little reaction. He took a moment to appreciate the irony that he—the loser of the match—needed to console the winner. He thought carefully about what to say. Iida knew he wasn't the most emotionally intelligent guy—people didn't compare him to a robot just because of his unusual way of talking with his hands after all—but he could tell that this was eating Allen up on the inside. "I think…" Iida said cautiously, "that you are being too hard on yourself, Allen-kun. I lit you on fire. I think I would have been rather upset myself, not to mention that you…well, anyways…I will not tell you not to worry about your struggles with your temper, but please, do not worry about me."

Allen was silent for a second and then nodded. "I guess I can do that. Or try at least."

Iida nodded. "That's all I ask."

Allen shifted awkwardly in place for a second. He had to ask. "So, uh…you and Yaoyorozu-san, huh?"

Iida blushed. "I suppose there isn't any point in hiding it after you saw us…yes. It is what you're thinking."

Allen grinned—he wouldn't have seen this coming in a million years, but—mild jealousy aside—he was legitimately happy for Iida. "No shit?! Since when? How? Who 'fessed up first?"

Iida seemed to relax when he realized that Allen wasn't going to make fun of him or act jealous or angry. "We got to know each other through our duties as the class reps, and found that we have a lot in common…I asked Momo-chan out to dinner after we finished up our work a few weeks ago and we've been a…" Iida lowered his voice, as if saying it out loud would ruin whatever magic brought them together, "a couple ever since. We've been trying to keep it quiet. We agreed that it would be distracting to our other classmates at this critical time."

"Well, good for you!" Allen congratulated Iida. "I never knew you had it in you!"

Iida peered at Allen curiously. "You aren't angry?" He asked, "You made no secret about being romantically interested in Momo-chan. When we made the decision to keep our relationship a secret, we mostly had you and Mineta-kun in mind."

Allen frowned. "Okay first of all, don't ever mention me in the same category as that future sex offender. I might be straightforward and have a dirty mouth, but I resent that comparison—I'm a gentleman, dammit."

"Sorry," Iida apologized, "Momo-chan said the same thing. She was much more worried about Mineta-kun than you. I was mainly concerned about you because I know that I would be jealous in your place."

"Oh, don't get me wrong," Allen replied, "I am jealous. I'm totally jealous. No straight man or gay woman in their right mind wouldn't be, have you seen that girl? Because god damn is she fine." Iida nodded in agreement, feeling incredibly smug at that moment. Allen continued, "But I came to terms with the fact that she doesn't see me like that a while ago. She's just my hot female friend who occasionally helps me with my class work, and I can live with that—as long as you two are happy than I'm happy. Plenty of fish in the sea and all."

"Uh…well, thank you." Iida said, "That's rather mature of you." He paused, "That being said, could you…" Iida trailed off.

"Keep this to myself?" Allen finished. Iida nodded. "Yeah, no problem."

"We'd appreciate it." Iida said gratefully, "We'll let people know eventually, but right now is…"

"Eh," Allen shrugged, "Personally, I think you should let people know. I think pretty much everyone will just be happy for you. Mineta might be…" At the mention of the diminutive pervert's name Iida's face clouded over, "Okay, he will definitely be an annoying little bitch about it—I don't know what kinda world he live in that makes him think he's even remotely in Yaoyorozu-san's league, but knowing that she's dating someone who could whip his ass so badly that the rest of his body will match his head might make him back off a bit."

"Perhaps you are right." Iida replied, "And I'll talk to Momo-chan about it but in the meantime, we'd appreciate your discretion."

"Got it." Allen gave Iida a thumbs up and turned to walk out the door. As Allen walked through the door, he saw Yaoyorozu standing outside. "We're done." He said, closing the door behind him. "You can go see to your boyfriend now."

Yaoyorozu looked away. "Martin-san…I…"

Allen waved her off. "I'll tell you what I told him: I'm happy for you. If I'm being perfectly honest, he's a way better match for you than I am." He gave her a smile and ran his hand through his hair and did a mock hair flip, turning up his nose. "While I'm definitely much prettier, you need someone smart enough to keep up with you, and I'm not that guy."

Yaoyorozu let out a small giggle into her hand despite herself. She hit Allen lightly on the shoulder, taking care to avoid the areas where he was burned. "Stop it!" She said, "I'm supposed to be mad at you right now, don't make me laugh!"

"Yes ma'am." Allen chuckled. His face went serious. "I won't say anything, you know, about you two."

"…Thank you." Yaoyorozu replied, "The whole thing is rather silly, but I'm worried about…"

"Mineta. I know." Allen said with a look of distaste on his face. "I still mean what I said to him earlier. He touches you or any of the girls without their permission again and I'll pound him into wine."

Yaoyorozu smiled. "You have your flaws, but you _are_ a good person, Martin-san. Don't let the world take that away from you."

Allen smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. "I'll try. Now go take care of Iida, Yaoyorozu-san. He needs you more than I do."

 **AN: So after a bit of drama, I thought I'd serve up a double heaping of sugary fluff. As always, leave a review and let me know what you think!**


	18. The Rise of a Madman

Semper Fast Chapter 18: The Rise of a Madman

The sound of explosions gradually grew louder as Allen made his way through the interior halls of the stadium. Luckily, there were flat screen televisions broadcasting the action every thirty meters or so, so despite how slowly he was moving, he could still follow the action. While it was difficult to watch Uraraka being repelled again and again by Bakugo's merciless explosions, Allen was so thoroughly impressed by the girl's tenacity that he couldn't bear to look away. ' _Still,'_ he thought, ' _as impressive as this is, I wonder what she's hoping to accomplish by charging at him over and over like that? Bakugo's reflexes are damn good, and she's not getting any faster._ '

When he finally managed to struggle his way up the steps leading to 1-A's section of the stands, he emerged from the exit into the sunlight at a perfect angle to see the trap that Uraraka had laid for the Explosion user. In the sky, hovering over the two heroes-in-training like the Sword of Damocles, were the exploded remnants of the ring that Bakugo had inadvertently created during Uraraka's seemingly mindless charges. "OH MY GOD!" Allen exclaimed, drawing the attention of the nearby spectators as he pointed at the floating field of debris. There had to be over a thousand kilos of broken concrete up there.

"Oh wow…I get it!" Sero exclaimed from behind Allen. "While Bakugo has to focus on dealing with those rocks, she's going to hit him with her quirk and knock him out of the ring! That's brilliant!" Several other members of the class broke out into impressed murmurs agreeing with Sero's positive impression of Uraraka's gambit, while the more excitable classmates broke out into very loud and enthusiastic cheers. Allen smirked. There wasn't a single person in the class, including Allen himself, that would ever deny that Bakugo was practically the personification of talent or question his bottomless drive. However, his arrogance and abrasive personality had not exactly endeared him to his peers—Kirishima being the sole exception. When it came to a choice between cheering for Uraraka, or him, there was no contest.

However, everyone's positive feelings crumbled to ash in an instant when Mineta—who, despite his multitude of personality flaws, was no fool—pointed out a critical error in her plan: physics don't play favorites. "That idiot!" The diminutive teen shouted, his face ashen with concern, "That plan is a dead end! What is _she_ going to do about the rocks? Bakugo can blow them away with his quirk, but if she pushes him out of the ring, she'll be crushed!" The rest of 1-A looked at Mineta with irritated gazes for raining on their parade, but when the impact of his words sank in, they turned back towards the fight with matching expressions of horror.

With a triumphant yell, Uraraka released her quirk's hold on the concrete chunks, sending them raining down as she charged towards her distracted opponent. Everyone held their breath and braced themselves for the worst case scenario. Fortunately—depending on how you look at it—that worst case scenario didn't occur. In one fell swoop, Bakugo not only neutralized the threat of the falling rocks by pulverizing them with a gigantic explosion, but he also blew the charging girl away from him with the shockwave.

Even as far away from the blast as he was, Allen had to shield his face from the sudden blast of hot wind that buffeted him. "Fuuuuuuck." He said as a chill ran down his spine. He had no idea that Bakugo could produce a blast that powerful with no delay or special equipment. ' _He told me once that the shockwave from his explosions moves faster than the speed of sound…even if I'm moving at my absolute top speed, there's no way I could dodge or defend against something like that if he blasted it at me..._ " A very unsettling realization came to Allen just then. ' _Without some sort of long range attack…I don't think I can beat him.'_

The crowd was silent as the dust cleared and Uraraka's eyes widened in despair—despair at the sheer gulf in ability between herself and her opponent. It took absolutely everything that she had and more just to set up that attack, but it was all swept aside in an instant. To her credit, even then, she didn't give up. She still tried to move, to fight, even after her best efforts failed, but she simply had nothing left, and so she collapsed, unconscious.

Allen scowled as Midnight declared Bakugo the winner and he marched out of the ring to the sound with the same surly expression plastered on his face as always. He realized that he desperately needed to sit down. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Asui—who, as promised, had saved a seat for him—but after what he had just seen... ' _I know that she wants to talk about…that…but I just don't have it in me to deal with that right now! Besides,'_ he rationalized, looking over at Midoriya, who was visibly distressed by the conclusion of the match just now, ' _Midoriya needs me to take his mind off of that fight! He also needs to loosen up before his fight with Todoroki…yeah…that's it!'_

However, before he could take more than couple of steps, Midoriya suddenly stood up from his seat and began moving towards the entrance of the stadium interior with a purpose. Allen moved to grab his friend's shoulder, but was knocked off balance by the combination of how weak he was and how forcefully Midoriya was moving. Allen only managed to steady himself at the last second by grabbing onto a nearby railing. "H-hey man!" Allen said, "Where are you off to in such a hurry? Want to bounce ideas on how to take on Todoroki with me?" He hoped that his voice didn't sound as desperate as he felt.

Midoriya shook his head. "I'm going to go check on Uraraka-san…I know pretty well how she feels right now…plus, I've already got my plan for my match with Todoroki-kun prepared already." His eyes shone with determination. "I'm ready for my match with you too."

Allen blinked, "You must be pretty confident if you've already worked out how to take me down!" He pasted on a confident grin to hide how intimidated he felt by the prospect of fighting a prepared Midoriya while exhausted. "Not that it'll work, of course." He postured.

Midoriya matched Allen's grin with a smile that was clearly genuine, and therefore all the more unnerving. "We'll see. I've got to go. I'd bring you with me, but you're looking kind of pale. You should really sit down…plus," he added, looking distraught, "I doubt Uraraka-san wants to see too many people right now. You know how it is."

Allen nodded, saying nothing else as Midoriya continued on his way. He understood all too well. However, the departure of his friend left him lacking something that he sorely needed—an excuse to avoid the looming discussion with Asui. As discretely as possible, Allen glanced over at her, quickly averting his eyes when he saw her staring at him expectantly, unblinking.

' _Fuck.'_ He thought. ' _I hope that she didn't notice that. Where's Kirishima? I'll congratulate him on beating Sato and get 'trapped' in a conversation…she'll understand…Kirishima is just like that, he was able to hold a conversation with my mom for ten minutes and she doesn't even speak Japanese! Yeah, that'll work!'_ Allen quickly scanned the stands for his hot-blooded friend, but couldn't find him anywhere. While Allen had been talking with Midoriya, Kirishima had stepped out to go and congratulate Bakugo on his victory.

' _Okay,'_ Allen thought, growing more and more desperate as the seconds ticked by and it became more and more obvious that he was avoiding Asui, ' _Kirishima isn't here. No big deal, I can still talk to Ojiro! He'll need cheering up after losing to Midoriya—and taking a blast from Midoriya's quirk like that at close range is no joke…I'm just checking on my friend! Nothing suspicious about that!"_ Allen looked for Ojiro for about ten seconds before he remembered that he had still been sleeping off Recovery Girl's treatment when he left the clinic—since the tailed teen had been eliminated, the ancient nurse had elected to fully treat his wounds. Apparently, healing cracked bones required more energy than regrowing blistered skin, so he was comatose for the time being.

Allen snuck a glance back at Asui out of the corner of his eye. She was still gazing at him with her placid, unblinking expression, but she was rhythmically tapping her finger against her knee, and if his mind wasn't playing tricks on him, there was now a hint of tension in her frame that hadn't been there just moments ago. ' _Yeah, she_ totally _knows that I'm trying to avoid her. Still, there's_ got _to be a somewhat subtle way of delaying this…maybe…?'_ Allen's eyes continued to dart around until they fell upon Tokoyami, who was standing in a shaded area at the back of their section of the stands, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed and an unreadable expression on his avian face. Allen snorted involuntarily at the image. ' _Either that comes naturally to him, or he is trying_ waaaaay _too hard to look cool right now.'_ He shook his head. _'Yeah, there's no way she'll buy me naturally striking up a conversation with him.'_ He sighed. ' _Time to face the music I guess.'_

Allen turned towards Asui, openly acknowledging her presence by making eye contact. He nervously tried to swallow as he walked over, but found it difficult with how dry his mouth suddenly felt. Due to his exhaustion, walking was already difficult for him, but the 3 meters between Allen and the open seat next to his closest female friend felt like a daunting gulf. Still, step by step he approached, and Asui's eyes never left his for an instant. He sat down.

"Nice of you to join me, ribbit." Asui said drily, letting Allen know that she had noticed his attempt to avoid her.

"Hehe, yeah…" Allen laughed awkwardly. "So." He began, clearing his throat, horrifically nervous and even a little bit nauseous. This wasn't the somewhat thrilling feeling of desire mixed with social anxiety that he normally associated with the pursuit of the fairer sex—this sense of dread was more akin to the time that he had accidently broken the glass display case containing his grandfather's war memorabilia while roughhousing in a room that was off-limits.

"So." Asui echoed, with a hint of amusement in her deadpan voice, "are you going to say anything, or is this your idea of stimulating conversation?"

"Uh, no…I mean yes, I was going to say something, but I…uh." Allen cleared his throat again, "Wow, m-my throat is really dry." He pulled himself to his feet with considerable effort. ' _Nope, I can't do this after all! Sorry Tsu-chan!'_ "I'm going to go get something to drink from the concession stand! I'll be right back!"

Quick as a snake, Asui's hand clamped around Allen's wrist and pulled the exhausted boy back into his seat with ease. "Sit down, you idiot." She croaked and handed him an unopened water bottle, ice-cold and glistening with condensation. "Here." ' _You aren't going to weasel your way out of this, Ren-chan. The boy I like doesn't run from his problems, and I'm not about to let you start now!'_

Allen stared at the water bottle in Asui's hand like it was a live grenade for a second before accepting it. She had obviously predicted this reaction and prepared accordingly. Clever girl. "Thanks." He said, feeling trapped. ' _DAMMIT!_ ' He opened the beverage and took a deliberately long sip, planning to stall for time by taking as long as he could to drink it. Unfortunately for Allen, he was actually rather thirsty, so 'as long as he could' ended up not being very long at all, and before he knew it, he was holding an empty bottle.

"Wow." Asui said, mollified by the fact that Allen's transparent attempt to stall wasn't _total_ bullshit. "You really _were_ thirsty, ribbit. You downed that whole thing in one go. Anyways, you were saying?"

"Y-yeah." Allen replied, horribly uncomfortable. "I was about to say something just now…but I…uh…" a flash of inspiration hit Allen, and he pasted a sheepish expression on his face, "I totally just lost my train of thought! Damn!"

"Ren-chan." Asui croaked, deciding right then that she was sick of beating around the bush. "Stop it. You know that we have to talk about what happened in the clinic. About us."

"Ehh!?" Mineta loudly exclaimed from behind them with bulging, teary eyes. He had walked past them on the way to the bathroom at the worst possible moment. He looked outraged. "You two did _what_ in the hospital bed?!"

Both Allen and Asui turned flaming red as the murmured conversations of the rest of the class ground to a halt and they directed their gazes at the pair. "W-we didn't say anything about a bed, you little creep!" Allen shouted with a vein visibly throbbing on his forehead. He turned and slowly extended his hands with the intent of throttling the little pervert, but Mineta had enough of a sense of self-preservation to move out of reach. Denied his opportunity for retribution, Allen settled for damage control. He turned and looked each and every one of his classmates in the eye. "Nothing happened!" He insisted, "Mineta is just spouting nonsense as usual because his mind is stuck in the gutter!" ' _Even though he_ is _actually more right than I'd like to admit._ '

"Ribbit. After everything we did, you're calling it nothing?" Asui remarked with a mischievous glint in her eye. "That's so cruel, Ren-chan." The collective jaws of the class dropped at this statement and they excitedly began whispering amongst themselves while Mineta looked like he was about to have an aneurysm—whether out of jealousy or glee, nobody could tell. Not done yet, Asui went even further, putting a finger to her lip, "It was honestly amazing." Ashido squealed in excitement behind them and the male students present gazed at Allen with a mixture of envy and outright admiration. "Just kidding." Asui said, and everybody else let out groans, laughs or exclamations of disbelief.

Once he had recovered from the shock, Allen shot Asui a horrified and betrayed look. "Tsu-chan!" He hissed, " _What the_ _fuck?_ That wasn't funny!"

Asui let out a croaking chuckle, "I don't know," she replied, "I thought it was pretty funny."

"Do you even realize what you were implying just then?" Allen asked incredulously.

Asui shot Allen a deadpan look. "Of course I do, I'm not stupid. Everyone thought that we were having se—"

"Ahhhh! Okay!" Allen hastily cut her off, "I get it! I mean _you_ get it! Whatever! Why would you say that, even as a joke?"

"It got everybody off our case didn't it?"

"It…" Allen looked around. The shock of Asui's joke had indeed derailed everybody's attention and they had gone back to whatever it was they were doing before Mineta's outburst. "Huh. I guess it did."

"And," Asui further pointed out, "You aren't panicking anymore, so we can actually talk this out instead of you trying to run away or avoid the issue like a child."

At being so bluntly called out, Allen blushed and looked away, rubbing the back of his head. It really wasn't fair how well she could read him. "Hehehe, I guess you got me there…if you want to deal with this now, fine, we'll deal with this now." He took a deep breath—this wasn't going to be easy. He lowered his voice. "Do you like me, Tsu-chan? As more than a friend?"

Asui stiffened. As a child growing into her quirk, she had quickly learned that her difficulty with facial expressions and her naturally deadpan voice made her a gifted liar—a talent that she exploited for years until one day, she realized that nobody—not even her parents—could trust a single word that came out of her mouth. From that point on, she swore that she would honestly say what was on her mind, no matter what. "Ribbit." She croaked, and nodded, unable to say the word or look Allen in the eye.

Allen sighed. Despite his denials to the contrary, the joking words of his friends and not-so-joking words of his mother had planted the seed that this actually was the case, but he forcefully put the thought out of his mind. "How long?" He asked, keeping his voice gentle and low.

"A while." Asui replied. "More than a month. I don't know exactly when it really started." She let out a nervous ribbit. "My turn to ask a question." She said.

Allen smiled a little in spite of himself. "Are we taking turns now? Is this how this is working?"

"Yes." Asui replied. "Do you like me…as more than a friend?" She braced herself, fairly sure she already knew the answer to this question. Allen was silent for nearly ten seconds. Asui was pretty sure she didn't breathe during that entire span of time. ' _Just get it over with and say no already!'_ She thought.

"I don't know." Allen replied.

Asui blinked. "What?" She replied, not expecting that answer—it wasn't a no; but it wasn't a yes either. As answers went, that was just… "A total cop-out." Asui blurted out, annoyed. Allen looked at Asui. "That's not an answer Ren-chan. If you don't like me in the same way, just tell me. I'm a big girl, ribbit, I don't need you to spare my feelings out of pity."

"That's not—!" Allen exclaimed loudly, and then quieted down when he noticed the some of his classmates peering at him curiously after his outburst. "That's not what I'm doing, Tsu-chan." He repeated with a lower voice, "Seriously…I…" Allen stopped, cut off mid sentence by the sound of Present Mic announcing the arrival of Midoriya and Todoroki in the ring and the subsequent cheers that erupted from the stands on all sides. The match was about to begin.

"Then what is it?" Asui pressed, not to be deterred. "You either like me or you don't, it's really that simple."

"No it isn't!" Allen insisted.

"Then explain."

Allen didn't answer; his attention was at Midoriya, blown up in high definition on the massive screen in the stadium, staring down Todoroki with fiery determination in his eyes and deadly serious expression on his face. Asui sighed, she wasn't getting anything else out of him until this match was over.

At the sound of the buzzer, Todoroki created a wave of ice that advanced toward Midoriya at incredible speed before being brought to a stop by a massive burst of wind that shattered the mini-glacier sending shards of ice flying and buffeting the stands with a gale of frigid air. Allen winced as Midoriya let out a cry of pain and blood from his splintered fingernails splattered on the ground. His friend had just sacrificed a finger on his left hand to stop that attack. Midoriya repeated the same process again, and again, sacrificing finger after finger to stop Todoroki's attacks.

After one of these attacks, Todoroki sprinted forward and closed the distance on Midoriya. Now at close range, Todoroki threw a left haymaker so sloppy and telegraphed that—coming from the absurdly skilled and multi-talented son of the number two Hero—it couldn't be anything but a feint. However, out of practice as he was with actual combat due to his decision to focus on improving his mastery over One for All—Midoriya didn't see through the deception and took the bait, reflexively dodging in the way that had been drilled into his body—by circling to the right and throwing a right straight that—despite being anticipated, managed to strike Todoroki with a glancing blow, clipping his left ear rather than his nose.

Though he winced from the pain, Todoroki powered through and dropped his level, following up his wild left swing with a sweeping right kick that sent a low wave of ice over the ground. Despite leaping back in time to avoid the blow itself, Midoriya's reflexive reaction to Todoroki's punch had placed him in a disadvantageous position, and his right foot was caught in the wave. Todoroki raised his right arm, calling forth another massive wave of ice to finish the fight, and in a panic, Midoriya lost control over One for All, and rather than a finger, ended up sacrificing his right arm entirely to blow Todoroki away. This wind attack was far stronger than any of the previous blasts from his fingers, and Midoriya peered through the resulting mist hoping against hope that he had just won the fight.

This was not to be, however, and his mouth dropped open when he saw Todoroki on the other side of the ring, still on his feet. He had been able to react in a fraction of a second to Midoriya's desperate counter, and prevented himself from flying out of bounds by creating a wall of ice to brace himself. Seeing how badly Midoriya had just injured himself, Todoroki said something to Midoriya that Allen couldn't hear and he glanced into the crowd, Allen followed his gaze and saw none other than the current #2 hero, Endeavor. He looked back at Midoriya, who was staring at the ground with shadowed eyes. It was over…Midoriya had no more fingers left on his right hand, and now his entire left arm was shattered. Honestly, it was a miracle he was still on his feet at all.

"God damn it Midoriya." Allen muttered, gripping the edge of his seat so tightly that his knuckles were white as Todoroki launched yet another wave of ice at Midoriya. "You should know better than to hurt yourself like this—if you'd sparred with me more like I said, you would have kept your cool better and…WHAT?!"

Allen, Asui, the whole stadium—hell, the entire _country_ —gasped as one at the sight of Midoriya firing off another blast of air, destroying the advancing wall of ice and sending Todoroki flying back once more—with his _already broken fingers._ For just a moment, all of Japan went still. The cameraman on the field filming the festival for the television broadcast—recognizing great television when he saw it—zoomed in on Midoriya as he stared down the speechless Todoroki. In addition to his bleeding and horribly shattered limbs, his eyes were bloodshot, and filled with a wild, obsessive drive that sent chills down Allen's spine.

In the utter silence that followed this incredibly self-destructive yet badass act, Midoriya's voice was picked up by Midnight's microphone and his words were broadcast over the speakers. "You're trembling Todoroki-kun!" He growled, his normally impeccably polite speech reminiscent of Allen, or Bakugo. "You're reaching the limit of how much ice you can create…that's something you could fix by using your left side, isn't it? Everyone—everyone here is giving it their all, trying to achieve their dreams, trying to make it to the top…and you, you say you're gonna win with _half_ of your power? Give me a fucking break!" Midoriya glared at Todoroki and clenched his fist defiantly, either ignoring the pain from his broken fingers, or more likely, unable to feel them at all. "You still haven't put a scratch on me, you know…COME AT ME WITH ALL YOU'VE GOT OR GO THE FUCK HOME YOU LIMP-DICKED PANSY!"

(US Military Base at Camp Fuji—Martin Household)

Chris Martin laughed out loud as he watched the match with his wife. The language was different, but due to the nature of his duties, Chris understood enough Japanese to know that Midoriya had just taken a page straight out of his motivational speech playbook. "I'm glad to see that some of what I taught that kid sank in." He said with a proud air of satisfaction—that was one of manliest things he had ever seen in his life, and he chose to believe that it was in no small part due to his influence. Still, that kid was in for the mother of all dressings down the next time he saw him for injuring himself that badly in a fight without life-or-death consequences.

"What do you mean?" Susan asked curiously, "You've been yelling at him through the screen the whole match. What did he say?"

"Uh…nothing." Chris backpedalled. "Forget it."

"Chris." Susan said suspiciously, "What did he say? If your filthy mouth rubbed off on that sweet boy like it did on our son I swear…"

"Look honey!" Chris said, trying to redirect his wife's motherly fury, "It's starting again!"

(Yuuei Festival Stadium—Stands)

Allen barked with unexpected laughter as Todoroki's face contorted in rage at Midoriya's uncharacteristically profane provocation, but his eyes narrowed intently at what happened next. Todoroki sprinted forward, obviously intending to finish this match at close range, but unlike earlier his movements were awkward, lacking the fluidity and grace that Todoroki had shown just moments before, but more than anything else—he was slow. "So that's his drawback, huh?" Allen mused.

"What are you talking about Ren-chan?" Asui asked. Still half-focused on their interrupted discussion, she had not been analyzing the fight as closely as Allen had been.

"I don't know about you mutant types," Allen said, "but every emitter quirk I know of has a drawback to its use—it might just tire you out really quickly, tear your muscles, or break your bones, whatever." He pointed to Todoroki, who—despite continuing to fight furiously against Midoriya without pause—was visibly shaking. "For him, it looks like using his ice too much lowers his body temperature."

"Ah." Asui replied. There really wasn't much else to say on the subject beyond that.

The fight continued for the next few minutes in much the same way, with Todoroki and Midoriya exchanging attacks. Midoriya was becoming progressively more and more injured as he recklessly fired off One for All with his broken fingers to negate Todoroki's attacks, relying on his knees, shins, feet and even his skull to deliver dish out attacks. Meanwhile, Todoroki's movements were getting slower and his trembling growing more severe as his body accumulated both frost and damage. Occasionally, the two would stop fighting to exchange words, but nobody else could hear what was being said over the deafening cheers of the crowd. Then after a particularly long verbal exchange, Todoroki froze in place, and his left side suddenly erupted with flames. Plastered his face was the first smile that Class 1-A had ever seen from the stoic boy. Midoriya, that noble, reckless, _crazy_ idiot grinned triumphantly back at the Todoroki as if he had just won the match rather than assuring his defeat by convincing his opponent to overcome his only weakness.

As thrilling as the body of the match had been—easily the best of the day—its ending would be talked about for years, as the clashing powers of the two teen titans caused an explosion that completely leveled the ring. Were it not for the swift intervention of several pros in the stands, it would have caused a major disaster for the audience due to the flying rubble. After a minute or so, the dust cleared, and despite _both_ fighters being judged to have been blown out of bounds simultaneously, Todoroki was the only participant still conscious—and was thus declared the winner. Due to the mess and the destroyed ring, an hour-long intermission was declared in order to repair the damage for the next match.

Despite the dramatic conclusion resulting in the loss of his friend—and the incredible good fortune of extra recovery time—Allen didn't have any noticeable reaction any of this. The moment Todoroki used his flames, he had stiffened involuntarily with fear. Technically, he already knew that Todoroki possessed fire powers, but he had never actually seen him use them except to melt his ice—and now, faced with the prospect of fighting them, he was terrified. He didn't want to get burned again.

"Ren-chan? Are you okay?" Asui shook Allen roughly, snapping him out of his trance. He could actually hear the concern in her voice—which meant that she was _really_ concerned.

"Y-Yeah I'm fine." Allen replied, blinking and shaking the cobwebs out of his mind. "Sorry, I kinda lost my self for a second there…what's up?"

Asui stared at him with unblinking eyes. "Ren-chan, I've been trying to get your attention for the last forty-five seconds at least. You were just staring into space, muttering to yourself."

Allen forced a laugh, "Huh…I guess all that hanging out with Midoriya has rubbed off on me!" Allen wanted to change the topic—to literally _anything_ else. Luckily, he knew just the thing. "Anyways, how about we finish our conversation from earlier, huh? No sense in putting it off, right?"

Asui stared at Allen. She was still concerned about his little episode just then, but if he was willing to redirect to an—in her mind—equally important subject rather than talk about it, than she wasn't going to push—not this time at least, not yet. "Okay, ribbit." She acquiesced, "But let's change locations first." she gestured to their surroundings—all of their missing classmates—minus Midoriya and Todoroki—had returned to their section of the stands during the match and the chances of their conversation remaining private had officially dropped to zero.

"Good idea." Allen agreed.

(Yuuei Sports Festival Stadium—Waiting Room 1)

Even though there was a one-hour intermission, Allen was still up next, so they figured that the odds of anybody else barging into his waiting room were rather low. After getting some more snacks and drinks—from a vending machine this time, as Allen refused to give another solitary yen to the concession stand—the two entered the room. Allen pulled out a chair to take a seat at the table, but Asui elected to make her way over to the couch tucked away in the corner.

"Not a chance." Asui croaked, and patted the spot on the couch next to her. "Having this kind of talk sitting at a table like that…it's feels too much like an omiai(Marriage interview)."

"Ha ha." Allen laughed sarcastically, but plopped down next to Asui nonetheless, "Very funny Tsu-chan. Now where were we before?"

"I don't know."

" _You_ don't remember?" Allen asked, surprised. Asui usually had a mind like a steel trap—she was one of the smartest in their grade.

"No, you said that you don't know how you feel about me." Asui corrected.

"Oh. Right…uh…" Allen paused as he tried to recall his train of thought.

"You either like me or you don't, it's really that simple." Asui repeated, further jogging Allen's memory. He was tired. She could be patient.

"Oh! Yeah! You know that me and Midoriya have been best friends since our first year of middle school, right?" Asui nodded, wondering where this was going. "We were basically inseparable." Allen chuckled, "You know, he actually spent so much time hanging out at my house that he became practically fluent in English." Asui blinked. She didn't realize that Midoriya was that good at English, but now that she thought about it, he was easily the best in the class at that particular subject after Allen, who dominated for obvious reasons.

He continued. "But ever since we got into Yuuei—actually, for nearly a year before that, we've been…drifting apart. It's not that we had any serious falling out or anything, it's just that once he got his…" Allen paused, "Once he finally started uh, training his quirk in earnest, he just hasn't had as much time as he used to…he says he wants to be the number one, strongest hero, and damn if I don't believe he'll do it." Allen looked a bit somber at that. "Sometimes it feels like I'm getting left in the dust."

"Not to be rude," Asui said, "but what does Midoriya have to do with us?"

"I'm getting to that." Allen replied. "Midoriya's like my brother. People have never really understood how we can be such good friends—we both seem so _different_ , right?"

Asui nodded. While she liked both Midoriya and Allen, they really were almost like night and day—honestly if she expected anybody from their old middle school to be friends, it would have been Allen and Bakugo—minus some of the more aggressively douche-y elements of Bakugo's personality, they were actually quite similar.

"But for me, the two us just _clicked_ , you know? I feel the same way about us." He said, pointing back and forth between them, "We're super different, but for some reason, we just _click_. I feel _comfortable_ around you. Sure, you bust my balls all the time, but I feel like I can tell you anything, and at the end of the day, you'll always have my back, just like I'll have yours." Allen paused, touching one of his covered up scars. "I'm getting better, but I know how much of an asshole I was after…after what happened at the USJ. You don't know how much you sticking by me at my worst meant to me. How much it _still_ means to me."

Asui nodded slowly, thinking that she was beginning to understand. "So you're saying that I'm…like a sister to you?" She asked. She was disappointed, but hearing his heartfelt declaration of how much she meant to him helped to soften the blow.

"Yes…I mean no…I don't know."

Okay, now she was just as confused as before. "Which is it, ribbit?"

Allen ran a hand through his hair. "You mean a lot to me, Tsu-chan, and I like you a lot. You're smart, fun, and you're really pretty girl, but—"

" _Don't._ " Asui interrupted.

"Don't what?" Allen asked, taken aback.

"Don't call me pretty." She croaked, "It's not true. I'm happy with who I am. I have a lot of gifts, but I'm not _pretty._ Don't insult me by lying to me Ren-chan!"

"I'm not lyi—"

"Look at me!" Asui croaked loudly, "I'm only 150cm tall, but my hands and feet are bigger than yours! My skin is always oily and wet—always!" Tears welled up in her eyes as she listed what were, in her mind, her imperfections. "My mouth is freakishly wide! I've got bug eyes that barely blink! I've got a 20 meter long tongue! I'm always hunched over! Nobody can ever tell what I'm feeling unless I tell them! Not you, not my siblings, not even my parents!" The tears were flowing freely now, this was a sore point for her, and now that it was out in the open, she wasn't going to stop until she said her piece. "Don't sit there and tell me that you think I'm pretty when you've never—not even once—looked at me the same way that I've seen you look at Momo-chan, Mina-chan, or even Ochako-chan!"

"Tsu-chan," Allen replied as gently as he could, "that's not true."

"Bullshit Ren-chan." Allen blinked, he'd never heard Asui curse before. "You know what the _truth_ is? The truth is that you didn't think of me as a girl until I sat in your lap for ten minutes and your biology reared its ugly head. I guess anything's okay as long as it's right in front of you, right? Ribbit."

Allen drew back as if he'd been slapped. "That's not fair and you know it, Tsu-chan!" He retorted sharply, a flush beginning to creep up his neckline at the reminder of the embarrassing moment. "I've always thought of you as a girl!"

"Oh really?" Asui replied. "Remember when I invited you to the arcade? First, you bring Midoriya-chan and Ochako-chan without even the courtesy of telling me—even though she was smart enough to recognize that I wanted spend time with you alone, what the hell?! Then, you offer to walk me home, you get my hopes up by talking about it being a date, and ask for my advice on how to ask out _Mina-chan_ on a date to do the _same thing_ we just did! The thing that _I_ _invited you to!_ Ribbit ribbit ribbit!"

Allen winced at this—he could already hear his mother's "I told you so" in the back of his head. "Okay," he admitted, "fine. In hindsight, that wasn't my finest moment, but do you really want the unvarnished truth Tsu-chan?"

Asui nodded, her cheeks inflating and deflating like a balloon as she breathed to get her temper under control—she couldn't even remember the last time she had lost it like that. "Tell me what you think, no matter what. Even if it hurts."

"You aren't as physically attractive as Yaoyorozu, Ashido, or Uraraka."

Asui inhaled harshly at the words—despite the unflattering message behind them, they were strangely comforting in the way that things conforming to one's beliefs about the world tended to be. However, the fact that they were so bluntly delivered by the one person who—at her core—she wanted to think differently cut her deep. "Thank you for being honest, ribbit." She said flatly, climbing to her feet and looking anywhere but at Allen. "You need to rest up for your match, so I'll be going now…"

In a reversal of their earlier roles, Allen grabbed Asui by the wrist, keeping her from leaving. "I wasn't finished, Tsu-chan." Gently, he pulled her back onto the couch. "You're right. Objectively, you aren't as physically attractive as those three are—but _that's okay_ : they're all _really_ pretty girls. But that doesn't mean that I don't think that you aren't pretty! I mean, fuck, Todoroki and…ugh" Allen retched a little, " _Bakugo_ are practically male model tier handsome. Way more than me. Does that make me seem ugly to you?"

"Of course not. Ribbit." Asui replied, conceding the point: Todoroki and Bakugo's good looks were actually an occasional topic of discussion amongst the girls. Personally, she thought that they were overrated, but kept that to herself. "But that's different! It's not the same for guys as it is for girls!"

"Oh for fuck's sake!" Allen groaned. He had officially lost patience with this conversation. His day had already been an emotional and physical wringer and he wasn't even done yet. He simply didn't have the mental energy to navigate delicate relationship drama and deal with Asui's self-esteem issues on top of everything else. ' _You know what?'_ he thought, frustrated, ' _Fuck it!'_. On an impulse, he grabbed Asui by the shoulders, leaned in and kissed her straight on the mouth.

For the first few seconds of the kiss, Asui was motionless, sitting ramrod straight—which was unusual for her due to her natural slouch—as she stiffened in shock. Then, once the reality of what she was doing—and whom she was doing it _with_ sank in, she leaned in eagerly, and going on instinct, pushed him down and straddled him so that he didn't have to bend over so far. Five seconds passed, then ten, than twenty, forty, and by the time the two surfaced for air, the two were rather disheveled, and she once again felt something poking her in the butt, but this time, neither of them cared.

"Okay, ribbit." she croaked contently, as Allen rhythmically ran his fingers through her hair. "I'll admit, that _was_ a pretty convincing argument."

"Right?" Allen replied with a cocky grin. "I _am_ pretty persuasive aren't I?" Though part of him felt like he should be panicking at making such a serious decision so impulsively, Allen felt strangely calm about what had just happened. In fact, everything just seemed…right.

Asui let out a croaking groan. "Of all of the people I had to fall for…Why couldn't it be someone reasonable, like Tokoyami-chan?"

" _Tokoyami_?" Allen repeated incredulously. "Reasonable? Don't get me wrong, he's not a bad guy, but that dude takes being an edge lord to the next level." Allen thought for a second. "Wait? Does that mean that _he's_ your next choice after _me_? You've got really random, weird tastes Tsu-chan."

Asui shrugged, "What can I say? I dig the whole dark and mysterious vibe."

"Is this your way of telling me to get a cape?" Allen joked.

Asui put a finger to her lip thoughtfully. "…I'm not, _not_ telling you to get a cape. It's up to you, ribbit."

"That's good, because I'm laying down the law about this right now—absolutely _no_ capes."

Asui laughed in her croaking, frog-like way. "Fair enough, ribbit. Ren-chan?" She asked, something nagging at her.

"Yeah?"

"Why did you do that? What changed your mind?"

"Honestly?"

"Of course."

Allen blushed. "Umm…actually, nothing really changed with _me…_ you were upset, and I couldn't seem to get through to you with words…so…yeah…I just kinda went for it without really thinking it through. Glad I did though." Asui gave him an incredulous look. "What? You wanted me to be honest."

Asui sighed. "You really are an idiot. But I guess that makes me an even bigger idiot for liking you." Allen chuckled at this. "Hey Ren-chan?"

"Hmm?"

"Are we…dating now?"

"Nah. There's still something missing."

Asui sat up and looked at Allen curiously, "What's that?" She asked. After what just happened and judging from his tone, she didn't think that he was rejecting her, but she didn't know what he was up to either.

Allen smiled. "Tsu-chan, will you go out with me?"

Asui blinked once, then twice. Then she smiled. "Yes," she croaked, and lay her head back down on his chest. "I'd love to go out with you, Ren-chan."

"Good." Allen replied, closing his eyes and stroking her hair once more, " _Now_ we're dating. Do you mind if we just stay like this for a while, without talking? I'm exhausted."

Asui didn't mind in the least.

 **AN: Hey everybody, it's been a while. I actually had this chapter mostly written, and then my computer got completely fucked with viruses so I had to wipe it completely, losing everything. I hated the idea of having to redo my work, so I just put it off for a while. As always, leave a review and let me know what you think. Next time: Allen vs. Mei!**


	19. Hatsume Mei Here, With a Special Offer!

Chapter 19: Hatsume Mei Here, With a Special Offer!

Allen opened his eyes with a yawn and blinked the sleepiness out of them. He had been so tired and comfortable that he had dozed off practically in mid-sentence. Feeling a slight crick in his back, he moved to stretch, but found himself constrained by a warm, pleasant smelling, and very soft weight. When he looked down and saw the petite girl sleeping peacefully on his chest, a peaceful grin stretched across his face at the memory of how the situation came to be and he ran his fingers through Asui's long hair. She let out a sleepy ribbit and buried her head further into the crook of Allen's shoulder. ' _You know,_ ' Allen mused in his blissful sleepy haze, staring blankly at the ceiling as he carefully adjusted his position on the couch to make himself more comfortable, ' _this might turn really, really badly…but right now, I really don't give a fuck. I don't think anything can ruin this moment right now.'_

"Ufufufufufu…I see, this explains a lot." A familiar voice rang out to their left, "No wonder my sex appeal didn't work on you."

Allen squeezed his eyes shut and pinched the bridge of his nose, letting out a long, low groan that was suspiciously close to a whine. "Goddamnit…" he whispered in a low voice, "are you fucking kidding me right now?" Allen turned his head and stared at Hatsume Mei, who was standing in their waiting room, watching them with wide, unblinking eyes and her usual, slightly unsettling smile.

"What do you want Hatsume-san?" He asked flatly, extremely grouchy about having to deal with someone as…unique…as Hatsume Mei under the current circumstances. Keeping his voice down so that he didn't wake Asui, he got straight to the point. "In case you haven't noticed, I'm kind of…" Allen paused, "uh, _busy_ at the moment, so you better have a good fucking reason for disturbing us right now, or I swear..." Allen trailed off.

Despite Allen's irritated tone, Mei's smile didn't falter one bit. "Now, now, that's hardly the way to treat a friend who came here out of the goodness of their heart to do you a favor, Martin-kun." She said, clicking her tongue at his attitude and wagging a finger teasingly. "As your former teammate, I simply wanted to give you a chance to fight me on even terms, given how tired you are. Interested?"

"All I'm interested in right now is getting a few extra minutes of sleep." Allen groaned, shutting his eyes and turning away from the girl. "Come back later—maybe when you've learned some common sense."

Mei's eye began to twitch. ' _This guy…'_ She took a deep breath. ' _Remember Mei, this is for your babies. Think of your poor babies, all lonely, with none of the support companies to see them!_ ' "I'm afraid I can't do that, Martin-kun. They just finished clearing the ring," she explained through clenched teeth, "the match starts in ten minutes."

Allen's eyes snapped back open at that info and shot towards the clock. Sure enough, an hour had passed. He groaned piteously. ' _Fuck, it's already been that long? It felt like I only closed my eyes for a second!'_ "Shiiiiiiiit…sorry about being so rude." Allen apologized, "…and thanks for waking me…I guess I owe you, again."

Mei's grin widened. That was exactly what she wanted to hear. "As it happens, I—"

"Just a second." Allen interrupted and gently shook Asui by the shoulder. "Wake up Tsu-chan, you have to get off me now, I have to get up."

Asui tightened her hold on Allen's midsection in protest. "Mmm, five more minutes, ribbit." She mumbled into his chest.

" _Hurk_!" Allen's breath was forced out of his body as he was hit with the one-two combo of how adorable that just was and the fact that despite her slight build, Asui was _a lot_ stronger than she looked. "Ow…" Allen wheezed, tender muscles screaming in protest as the mutant-type quirk user turned him into a human plushie. He continued to shake Asui's shoulder jostling her, "The match is about to start, Tsu-chan. We can't keep lying here."

Asui blearily opened her eyes and blinked sleepily several times. "Mmkay…ribbit." She mumbled before sitting up and stretching out. That was when she noticed Mei in the room. "You're that girl who was on Ren-chan's team…why are you in here?" She asked, raising a finger to her lip. "Aren't you his next opponent? Go to your own waiting room."

"Like I was saying Martin-kun, I have an offer for you. I can see that you're worn out from the events today," Mei remarked, ignoring Asui completely as she dug out an assortment of gadgets from her bag, "as a friend and comrade, I thought it would only be fair if I gave you a helping hand." She pulled out a box and hit a button, unfolding it to reveal some sort of exoskeleton. She held it out to Allen and grinned, "You say that you owe me, but really, _I_ owe _you_ , it's thanks to you wearing yourself out like this that I even got this far."

Asui blinked, a little nonplussed at being totally ignored like that. She gave Allen a meaningful look.

Allen patted Asui's hand consolingly. "Yeah." he said, answering the girl's wordless inquiry. "That's just how she is." He directed his attention back to the pink-haired inventor, who had accumulated a truly impressive pile of mechanical crap on the ground in front of her in just a few seconds. "Okay Hatsume-san," Allen said, skepticism writ plainly on his face, "what do you _really_ want? What's your angle?"

"Ren-chan!" Asui scolded, "That's no way to talk to someone who's offering to help you!"

"Tsu-chan, please. You're only saying that because you don't know her like I do."

"How well could you possibly know her?" Asui croaked, "You met her less than three hours ago."

"I know her well enough to know bullshit when I see it."

Mei froze momentarily at being called out, and after weighing her options, she sighed. "Here's the thing, Martin-kun." She said, deciding to ditch the indirect manipulation and go with a more straightforward approach. "I honestly don't care about this tournament one bit. The only reason I'm still here is to show off my babies to the big companies. I was actually planning on bowing out in the first round, but I didn't get a chance because your classmate beat himself."

"Okay." Allen drawled, "So what does that have to do with me?"

Mei grinned, "Here's the deal, if you agree to be my assistant and help me pitch my babies during the match, I'll forfeit once I'm done. You get the privilege of using my babies and an easy win to help recover your strength, while I get to show the bigwigs what I've been working on. It's a win-win! Let's shake on it." Mei extended her hand.

"Absolutely not." Allen answered immediately.

Mei's mouth dropped open. "What?! Why not? It's a really good deal!"

"Are you kidding me? No _fucking_ way _!_ I can't follow up Uraraka and Midoriya with something so lame after they gave everything they had! I'd never live it down! Tsu-chan, back me up here!"

"Actually, I think you should take the deal, Ren-chan." Asui said, looking thoughtful.

"Tsu-chan!" Allen exclaimed, rising to his feet, "Seriously? I already didn't do myself any favors with that last match, being an active participant in a fixed match will piss off everybody who doesn't already hate my guts!"

Asui stared at Allen for a few seconds and then rose to her feet and gave him a light push. Caught off guard, Allen stumbled and dropped onto his butt.

"Ow! The fuck!" Allen exclaimed while Mei snickered into her hand.

"I shouldn't have been able to do that so easily Ren-chan. You're still weak from the other events and Recovery Girl's treatments. Look at…Mei-chan?" Asui glanced at Mei for confirmation that she had the girl's name correct, and then continued, "She isn't tired at all. Even without her gadgets, she'd probably be able to run circles around you as you are right now."

Allen bristled as he pulled himself to his feet. "No she wouldn't! I'm fine! You just surprised me is all!" He began jogging in place and shadowboxing to prove his fitness. "See!" he said, breathing hard, "I'm…totally…fighting fit!"

The two girls in the room simultaneously sweatdropped at the display and Mei shot Asui a sympathetic look. "Your boyfriend isn't very smart is he?"

Asui let out a mournful ribbit. "No…no he isn't."

"Hey!" Allen protested, "Whose side are you even on, Tsu-chan!"

Asui ignored him. "He can be pretty cute sometimes though, right? Ribbit."

Mei gave Allen an appraising look, "Hmm, I'll grant that he's not bad on the eyes, but I prefer the shy, nerdy, more easily manipulated type myself." She let out a cackle; "They don't complain, and always do what I ask, so they make excellent test subjects for my babies."

Allen blinked at that; bemused at the way the girls were talking about him right to his face. Also, on an unrelated front, he had a point of concern. ' _Note to self,_ ' he thought, ' _I need to keep this crazy girl away from Midoriya…he's gotten better than he was, but he still caves in to attractive girls way too easily. I'm legitimately afraid for his safety if she sinks her claws into him."_

Meanwhile, Asui stared blankly at Mei for a few seconds, most likely digesting what the obsessive inventor had just said and filing that information away. "Ribbit, anyways," she croaked, deciding to get their conversation back on track, "take the deal Ren-chan. Right now, that's just your pride speaking. There's no point in fighting this battle. Mei-chan doesn't intend to move onto the next round no matter what, isn't that right Mei-chan?"

Mei nodded, "There's no way I'm fighting that Todoroki kid. _No_ _thank you_. Once I get the chance to show off my babies, I'm losing this match even if I have to tie you up for the duration and stepping out of the ring to do it."

Allen crossed his arms and scowled at her implication that she could beat him so easily. "I'd like to see you try it you pink-haired h…ack!" He cried out in surprise as Asui cut him off by lightly jabbing him in the ear with her tongue.

"Be nice, ribbit."

"Don't do that!" Allen protested, cleaning the spit out of his ear. "That's really gross!"

"Is it?" Asui replied, completely deadpan, "That's funny. You weren't complaining about it an hour ago, ribbit."

Allen's face went red. "Ts-Tsu-chan!" Mortified, he shifted his eyes towards Mei, who was snickering at the exchange. "T-that's private!"

Asui smiled, "You put on a tough guy front, but you're actually pretty shy when it comes to stuff like this, aren't you Ren-chan? How unexpectedly cute, ribbit."

As entertaining as Mei found this, she glanced at her watch and let out a cough. "As much as I hate to interrupt you two's flirting—" Allen audibly snorted in disbelief, "we're on a time schedule here. You need to make a decision, Martin-kun. Are you in or are you out?"

"I already told you my decision." Allen stated, "Forget it. Not happening."

Asui let out a croaking sigh. "Could you step out of the room for a second, Mei-chan?" She said with a gleam in her eye. "I'll try to convince him to see reason." Mei shrugged and did as she was asked—as long as the frog girl managed to convince Allen to take her offer, it didn't matter whether she was there to see it or not—in fact, she could use this to her advantage. As soon as she left the room, a wicked grin spread across her face as she pulled out a notepad and began writing something down.

As the door closed behind the pink-haired inventor, Allen let out a scoff and crossed his arms across his chest in a defiant pose. "I don't know what you hope to accomplish by doing that, Tsu-chan, but whatever it is, it won't work. I'm not doing it and that's final. There's no way in hell that you'll convince me otherwise."

(UA Sports Festival Stadium—Ring)

" **Sorry for the delay listeners!"** Present Mic's voice blared out over the stadium speakers. " **Now that we finally have the ring cleared up after our last match's explosive conclusion, we can get this show on the road! In a field packed with talent, she's made her mark as the only person from outside the hero course to make it this far in the tournament! Her last fight ended too quickly, so hopefully she'll be able to demonstrate why her teachers describe her as the most gifted student to enter our Support Course in generations! You support companies out there better keep an eye on Haaaaaaatsume Meiiiiiiiiiii!"**

Mei grinned widely as she stepped onto the newly repaired ring to the enthusiastic applause of the crowd. She took a moment to double-check her equipment and make sure that everything was in order.

"Perfect." She said.

" **This kid isn't just strong, he's tough! After taking first place in the obstacle course and an admirable performance in the cavalry battle, he pushed his way through unexpected injury and pain to earn a…decisive…victory over his classmate in a contest of speed and skill! Now he's all patched up and hungry for more! Let's hear it for our American Speedster, Alleeeeeeeeeeeeeen Martiiiiiiiiiin!"**

In sharp contrast to the enthusiastic response that Mei and every other competitor received, there was only scattered polite applause for Allen. Though his anger fueled rampage against Iida had only lasted a few seconds in real time, the sheer brutality of the Allen's assault on the bespectacled teen had left a deep and rather unfavorable impression on the spectators. Many of them were murmuring amongst themselves, questioning the wisdom of allowing so obviously volatile to continue at all.

Surprisingly, this didn't bother Allen in the least—the reason being that he was far too busy wishing that his quirk were actually intangibility, because he desperately wanted to disappear into the earth as he stepped onto the concrete square decked out in a heap of Mei's support gear.

"Martin!" Midnight—despite being visibly excited by the embarrassed flush on Allen's face—barked at the teen. "What exactly are you wearing? Support equipment is forbidden unless prior permission is given!"

"Uh, yeah…" Allen scratched the back of his head as his flush crept from his face and went down his neck, "I'm sorry about that, Midnight-sensei, but here's the thing…" Allen paused and glanced into the crowd and locked eyes with Asui. She nodded, prompting him to continue and he took a deep breath. "Hatsume-san came to me before the match and offered to let me use her equipment as a…um…a show of good will and…uh, fairness…since I was so worn out from the previous events and my medical treatment. It was an offer I just didn't have in me to refuse." Allen couldn't look her in the eyes at all while delivering his explanation.

Suspicious, Midnight stared at Allen with a lidded gaze, making the normally brash, confident young man squirm under the scrutiny in a way that tickled her sadistic side. Though he clearly hadn't been totally honest in his explanation, a glance at Mei revealed that the girl was clearly more than content with whatever arrangement they had made. While Allen's embarrassed and sheepish behavior made the pro hero intensely curious as to the exact details of the arrangement, she didn't feel particularly inclined to object. _'Besides,'_ Midnight thought to herself as she gave the okay and signaled the start of the match with a flick of her crop, ' _if this is a set up, and he's just being taken advantage of by a pretty face, this'll be a valuable lesson for him.'_

At the call to begin, Allen fiddled with a device on his head, rolled up his sleeves, and with a nod to Mei, broke into a run, heading straight for her. ' _Too late to turn back now,'_ he thought, ' _Let's just get this over with! Hopefully it won't be_ that _awful.'_

Mei grinned, " **Isn't my baby wonderful, Martin-kun?"** She had speakers hooked up to her bodysuit and her voice was loudly and clearly projected throughout the stadium.

" **Eh?"** Present Mic commented, flabbergasted at this strange development. " **A speaker?"**

Mei continued speaking as Allen cut to the left and circled around her at a sprinting pace. " **Don't your legs feel lighter than usual? Isn't changing direction much easier? That's because this item uses hydraulics and an automated gyroscope to assist the user's natural movements, giving you greater mobility for less effort!"**

" **Are you kidding me?"** Present Mic muttered, " **Is she really…?"**

 **"She's a born saleswoman."** Aizawa commented, " **Unlike the others, she's not out to get scouted by heroes, so what she's doing is rational. Still…"**

Allen slid to a stop behind Mei and cleared his throat. " **I don't know, Hatsume-san."** He woodenly recited into his own speaker, reading hastily written lines off of the back of his arm. His ears were solid red with embarrassment. " **Sure, this is letting me run pretty fast for half the effort it usually takes, but I am not using my quirk! It is no good to me if it can not keep up with that kind of speed!"**

" **Not to worry Martin-kun!"** Mei replied with all of the enthusiasm and energy of a T.V. salesman, " **With my state-of-the-art custom design, this baby can keep up with the user's movements no matter the speed! Go ahead and give it a try!"**

" **What?"** Present Mic screeched following this exchange, " **This is getting out of hand! Now there are two of them! Is he reading a script? Is this even a fight anymore? Eraserhead! What is going on?"**

" **He's playing along, obviously. Given his exhaustion thanks to Recovery Girl's treatments, this is actually an unexpectedly smart and rational move from Martin-san…so much so that I have my doubts that he came up with it."**

" **Oi…Eraserhead…that's a pretty cold thing to say about your student."**

" **Hmm. Well, regardless of whether he came up with it or not, I approve. As a pro, there are times when battle can't be avoided, but when an opportunity to win without a fight presents itself, it should be taken without hesitation."**

" **I see your point,"** Present Mic replied, **"but you gotta admit, after our last couple of fights, this promises to be pretty lame by comparison."**

" **Like I keep telling you, heroics isn't about winning fights in a flashy way, it's about getting the job done."** Aizawa bluntly replied.

" **You know Eraserhead, that overly rational attitude of yours is exactly why you aren't popular."**

" **Don't need it."**

(UA Sports Festival Stadium—Stands)

As the minutes passed and Allen reluctantly assisted Mei in showing off her support gear piece by piece in the world's most surreal infomercial, every member of class 1-A had their jaws hanging open in shock at the brazen subversion of the purpose of the tournament. Then, as the reality of what was happening sank in, their reactions varied.

Bakugo, of course, sneered and muttered insults under his breath that a few of the more serious members of the class—feeling like Allen was making a mockery of their efforts by participating in this farce—privately agreed with. Some, like Uraraka, Ashido, Kaminari, and Jirou, thought that this was hilarious and were laughing uproariously at Allen's visible embarrassment, stilted delivery and the obvious manner in which he was reading from a script.

However, most of the class dropped their faces into their palms or—unable to bear watching this slow motion train wreck—completely averted their eyes from the display, overcome by a shared feeling of embarrassment on their classmate's behalf.

"C'mon Allen…really?" Midoriya muttered; his cheeks were flaming red and he was currently regretting his decision to leave the hospital bed as Uraraka wiped the tears from her eyes from her spot next to him. "It's a good idea, strategically speaking, but I can't believe he would willingly do this…he's so proud…what on earth did that girl say to him to get him to agree to this?"

Beside them, Asui let out a quiet ribbit that went unnoticed. She didn't want to watch—she could see the shame and self-disgust rolling off of Allen as plain as day as he read his lines and acted out his role in this sham of a match—it pained her to see him put on a brave front while so obviously upset. However, she refused to look away. _'Even if it's for his own good, he's putting himself through this because of me, because of what I said. I can't look away. Not even for a second."_

(UA Sports Festival Stadium—Ring)

Hearing the commentary of his teachers and the gradually increasing number of jeers from certain sections of the stands, Allen grit his teeth and tried to swallow his disgust at his own actions. ' _I know that Tsu-chan and Aizawa-sensei are right. I know that under the circumstances, this is the smartest, most rational decision…that this is the only thing I can do if I want to have a prayer at lasting even ten seconds against Todoroki, let alone beating him…but…_ '

He thought of Ojiro—who had continued fighting even when Midoriya's quirk-enhanced punches and kicks had actually caused hairline fractures in several places. He thought about Uraraka, and the way she endured countless explosions from Bakugo in the hopes of pulling off her reckless and desperate strategy. He thought of Midoriya, breaking and re-breaking his fingers in his bid to defeat Todoroki's ice, of his passionate and obsessive drive to not only win, but to save his classmate from himself.

' _I know this is the rational decision, but why do I feel so shitty about it?"_ He swallowed, " _I don't want to do this! Why_ am _I doing this?_ "

He glanced up into the stands and set eyes on Asui. She was the only person in their section of the stands on their feet, so she stood out. Her dismay at the way Allen's pride was being destroyed at her urging was visible in the slight frown on her face, the faintest wrinkle on her brow, and the tension in the tendons out of her forearms, stretched taut as she tightly gripped the metal railing. However, despite this obvious discomfort, she never looked away as she silently urged him to keep going just a little while longer, to finish what he had started.

' _Okay, Tsu-chan.'_ He thought, mindlessly reading the next line off of his arm. ' _I'll keep going.'_ At last—after what seemed like an eternity to Allen—it was over, and a satisfied Mei took a bow and stepped out of the ring with the most refreshing and genuine smile that anyone had seen from her all day. As soon as she did, Allen let out a deep sigh of relief that it was finally over, but hung his head in shame. He was the picture of dejected depression.

"…H-Hatsume Mei has stepped out of bounds. Allen Martin is the winner." Midnight said, unsure of how to feel about the outcome of the match. This was, hands down, the most bizarre 'fight' that anybody had ever seen at the UA sports festival tournament. It was also the first time she had ever seen a loser looking so triumphant while the winner appeared to be the defeated one.

" **L-let's hear it for our contestants! That sure was an…interesting match!"** Present Mic called out in an attempt to hype the thoroughly bored crowd up. There was a smattering of polite applause. " **Anyways, since we're already behind schedule, let's get this show on the road! Up next is Tokoyami Fumikage versus Ashido Mina! Those two are sure to get the blood flowing with some heart pounding excitement! YEEEEEEEAAAAAAH!"**

(UA Festival Stadium—Stands)

As soon as Allen walked through doorway into the 1-A section of the stands, the indistinct murmur of conversation died. Deciding to break the ice, Kaminari walked up to Allen with a teasing grin on his face and opened his mouth.

"Hey Allen, that was—"

"Not. _One. Fucking. Word_." Allen snarled. The tendons in his jaw were bulging—his teeth were so tightly clenched together that Kaminari could hear them grinding from over a meter away. His blue eyes were cold and flinty, and his hands were balled into fists inside of his pockets. His body language was so tense and hostile that he exuded an almost palpable aura of menace, like a particularly mean dog on a chain.

He'd had ample time on the walk from the ring to the stands to convert his feelings of humiliation and shame into anger and frustration at his own weakness. He preferred it that way. Anger was good. He could channel anger, use it to push him forward, give him strength.

Kaminari went pale and closed his mouth when he saw the look on Allen's face—thinking better of his teasing jibe when he remembered the way Allen had totally flipped out on Iida. "Uhhhh…okay man, whatever you say." He said, backing up with his hands held up in front of him like a shield. Allen merely grunted and stormed past him, making his way to the front of their section and depositing himself in the empty seat next to Asui.

Mineta sidled over to Kaminari, who—shocked by the level of hostility that had just been directed towards him—hadn't moved a muscle. "Damn dude," the Pop-Off user teased his friend in a low voice, "he just made you look like a _bitch_!"

That snapped Kaminari out of his stupor. "Up yours, half-pint!" He replied reflexively, but without any heat in his voice. Kaminari let out a long breath with a hand on his chest and ran a hand through his hair. "Whoa, that was fucking _scary_!" He exclaimed, "He's normally so easygoing and goofy that it's sometimes easy to forget how _big_ and _dangerous_ he is...I'd seriously hate get on his bad side…especially after what he did to Iida."

Mineta laughed nervously as he remembered Allen's threats from earlier that very day. "Haha yeah…imagine that." He pledged right then and there that he would steer clear of his American classmate if at all possible. ' _Fuck staying away from the girls though._ ' He thought resolutely, directing his gaze over to Yaoyorozu's chest. He clenched his tiny fist. ' _There are some things worth risking it all for!'_

Meanwhile, Asui was troubled, tormented by an acute sense of guilt as she stared at Allen. He was in a horribly foul mood after his match, and she felt completely responsible. Intellectually, she knew that it was ridiculous to completely shoulder the blame herself—after all, Allen was his own person, and could make decisions for himself—but she was the one who put him up to it. An annoyingly loud and insistent corner of her mind kept was terrified that he resented her for that. Needing reassurance—and feeling horribly selfish for that need—Asui shyly extended her hand to him. "Ren-chan…?"

Allen glanced over at Asui with steely eyes. He was still furious—and actively trying to remain so—but when he saw hints of tears gathering in the corners of Asui's eyes, his gaze softened and he took the offered hand into his own, lacing their fingers together. "I'm…I'm fine, Tsu-chan." He said, anger draining from him like pus from an infected wound. "I'm…okay…it's okay. Come here." He said, letting go of her hand. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder, pulling her against his side and he linked his free hand back up with hers. He closed his eyes and inhaled Asui's rain and lily scented hair. "I'm fine." He repeated again.

The rest of the class watched this exchange silently, blown away by both the rapid shift in Allen's mood as well as the unexpected level of intimacy between two people who had been avoiding each other just yesterday.

"Whoa, dude…" Sato whispered to Ojiro, "You're pretty close with Allen, right? Are those two…? You know?" The beefy teen extended his pinky finger. Ojiro shrugged. As far as he was concerned, it wasn't any of his business.

"You think that they even realize that we're here?" An amused Jirou leaned over and asked Uraraka, who was watching the scene with a massive grin on her rosy cheeks.

"I doubt it," the cheerful girl replied with a giggle, "but do ya honestly want them to? That's gotta be th' cutest thing I've ever seen!" She sighed, "I wish I had someone ta snuggle with like that!" As she said that, Uraraka's eyes shifted over in the direction of Midoriya for a split second before snapping back so quickly that she wasn't even aware of it herself. He had his notebook and pen in hand, and was muttering at high speed, so laser focused on Ashido and Tokoyami's match that he was completely unaware of what was going on around him.

However, Jirou did see this and smirked knowingly. "I'm sure you'll find someone up to the task." She reassured Uraraka, "In fact, they're probably closer than you think."

As if on cue, Mineta appeared behind the two girls. "How right you are!" He said, grinning at Uraraka lecherously and leering at her chest, which was more exposed than normal thanks to Bakugo shredding her jersey top with an explosion. "On that note, I'd like to submit my name for my consideration, if you don't mi—agh! MY EYE!"

"We do mind." Jirou said flatly as she retracted her Earphone Jack, "And didn't anyone ever tell you that it's rude to eavesdrop on private conversations?"

"I THINK I'M BLEEDING!"

"Trust me, if I wanted to you bleed, you'd be bleeding. I barely even touched you," Jirou scoffed, "don't be such a baby."

Meanwhile, oblivious to the world around them, Allen and Asui quietly enjoyed their moment together before Allen was called forward to fight his most dangerous opponent yet.

"Looking back, was it really that bad, Ren-chan?" Asui asked, "I'll admit, the whole script thing caught me off guard, but other than being a little embarrassing, it was pretty easy right?"

Allen growled. "That Mei…I'd bet anything that she waited until I had already promised you that I'd take her offer before springing the script on me…that manipulative little cu—"

"Ren-chan." Asui rebuked mildly. "Be nice."

"—on Artist." Allen corrected mid-course.

"Better." Asui waited a moment. "You never answered my question. Was it really that bad?"

"I think I preferred being set on fire."

"I'm being serious, Ren-chan."

"I'm…like _half_ serious." Allen replied, "Please don't ever ask me to do anything like that again, I don't think my fragile ego could take it."

"Mmm," Asui hummed, "I'll do my best, but no promises. Your health is just a bit more important to me than your pride, sorry."

"Eh, I'll take it."

 **AN: Chapter complete! I'm sure that there are typos, but I'll deal with them later, as this is already past when I was hoping to have this up. As I am doing my rewrites of the story, I'll be alternating working on new chapters and updating and editing the old ones. I've already reworked chapter 1, so now chapter 2 is on the block. I'd like to give a shoutout to my reviewers, especially those of you who take the time to review each of my chapters as they come out. KnightOfZaku, xbox432, Carlomangno-2, Sarin y Mostaza, Celestial stratos, Ninjagamer15—you guys are a big part of what keep me going.**

 **As of chapter 18, Semper Fast was the 154** **th** **highest reviewed English MHA fanfiction, I'd like to see us rise higher! Plus Ultra my friends.**


	20. Explosions, Fire, and Fear

Semper Fast Ch 20: Explosions, Fire, and Fear

(UA Sports Festival Stadium—Stands)

Still cuddling with Asui, Allen was barely paying attention as Kirishima loudly clacked his two fists together. "All right!" He cheered, "Looks like I'm up now!"

"Good luck man," Kaminari said, "I'm probably not alone in hoping that you beat Bakugo."

"Damn right!" Allen called out, not looking back. "Fuck him up!"

"Please don't yell in my ear Ren-chan."

"Sorry."

"What do you think his chances are?" Asui asked, "I know you've been hanging out with him and training together, ribbit."

"Hard to say," Allen replied with a thoughtful frown. "Kirishima's technique has a long way to go, but its gotten a lot better in the last couple of weeks. Even without that, he's strong. _Really_ strong—as in, I watched him crush a stone with a single punch strong. Defensively, his Hardening is no joke—if I fought him seriously, I don't know if I could beat him."  
"You think he would beat you?" Asui repeated in surprise.

"I didn't say that!" Allen retorted, "I said I don't think I could beat him. In a tournament setting like this, with rules, I'd win, no problem—I'd just lure him to the edge and push him out of the ring. If I had to knock him out though…" He shook his head, "No clue what I'd do. I can't hit hard enough to break through his Hardening, if I tried to choke him out, I'd cut myself on his skin before I cut off the blood supply, and even if I could, he's so much stronger than me while using his quirk that he'd be able to pry me off in a second."

"Sounds like he's your perfect counter." Asui remarked.

"Sort of," Allen admitted, "but not really—I might not be able to hurt him, but he's not really a threat to me either, cause he's too slow to catch me. Anyways, not important…if I had to guess, I'd say that it could easily go either way, but as much as I hate to admit it, Bakugo's versatility and range probably gives him the edge in this fight. I do hope Kirishima wins though."

(UA Sports Festival Stadium—Ring)

" **All right everybody, let's get this show on the road! Beginning our final match of the second round, it's the ultimate example of overwhelming offense versus overwhelming defense! The boy with the skin of stone versus the power of explosions!"**

"Hey man!" Kirishima greeted Bakugo as he stepped onto the ring and walked straight up to him. He held out his hand, "Let's have a great match alright?"

Bakugo stared at the offered hand with a surly expression before shrugging and shaking it with a smirk. "Why the hell not? I'm gonna have fun murdering you out here, Stupid Hair."

"In your dreams man! I'm gonna win this one!"

Midnight squirmed at the scene, "Oooh so youthful!" She swung her crop, "Separate, you two!" They did so, taking opposite ends of the arena. "Now, begin!"

"DIE!" Bakugo screamed, launching himself like a cannon ball towards Kirishima at the exact moment that the match started, beginning the fight with a massive right swing, as was his habit. Expecting the attack, Kirishima hardened up and raised his left arm in a block, simultaneously throwing a right straight aimed at Bakugo's body, but only hit air as Bakugo expertly avoided the attack by blasting himself skyward with his left hand, vaulting over Kirishima and conveniently sending a cloud of dust into his eyes at the same time. Once on the ground, Bakugo quickly spun around and with a powerful step in and a triumphant yell, he hit the stunned Kirishima in small of his back, near the kidneys, with a double-handed palm strike further enhanced with explosive power, sending him flying.

Bakugo sneered as Kirishima pulled himself to his feet with a muttered 'ow'. "Don't think that you can read me so easily, stupid hair." He warned with an evil grin, popping off a few small explosions in his palm. "You aren't the only one who's been picking up new tricks!"

(UA Sports Festival Stadium—Stands)

"God _damn_ that was slick!" Allen exclaimed, "I still hate the guy, but holy fuck was that impressive!"

Asui let out a ribbit and nodded, "That was some pretty impressive control over his quirk just then."

Allen shook his head, "Not just that—that attack he just used…that was a Baijiquan technique!"

Asui gave Allen a _look_. "Which is?"

"It's a school of Chinese Kung Fu." A voice behind them chimed in.

Allen grinned and turned to address the new arrival. "Ojiro!" he cheered, "Glad to see you up and about!"

Ojiro huffed, and sat down in the open seat next to them with a wince. "Yeah, finally, now that I've missed basically everything. Midoriya's last attack really knocked me for a loop; broke six of my ribs. It still hurts, too."

Allen winced, "That's rough man."

"That's life I guess," Ojiro shrugged, "still, never expected Bakugo to use Kung Fu—relatively obscure Kung Fu at that—where would he even learn that?"

"Online maybe?" Asui guessed.

"That makes sense." Allen agreed, turning his attention back to the match. "It was a good move though—with the way his quirk works, styles with a lot of palm strikes suit him more than closed fists."

"Definitely," Ojiro agreed, "I wonder if he knows moves from other styles like Tai Chi or Baguazhang?"

Asui looked back and forth between the two martial arts nuts as they analyzed the fight in a bunch of fighting jargon. " _I don't have anything to add here_."

(UA Sports Festival Stadium—Ring)

Kirishima was getting frustrated, despite all of his training and the improvements he made in his technique, it all seemed futile in the face of Bakugo's sheer combat talent. The fight had been going on for nearly five minutes now, and every time he would throw a punch, kick, or dive in for a tackle, Bakugo would either dodge it and hit him with an explosion, redirect the attack with some funky spiraling motion and hit him with an explosion, or blind him with a blast to the face…and then hit him with another explosion.

"Ugh," he griped, waving the smoke from the latest blast out of his face, "my ears are probably going to be ringing for weeks after this."

"Go to sleep!" Bakugo yelled, sending out a decent sized blast from about 2 meters away, forcing Kirishima back several steps and shrouding him in a cloud of smoke and dust.

Kirishima charged through the smoke, his shirt was a charred wreck all but falling off his body, but basically unharmed. "Nah! I still got a tournament to win." " _I better make it fast though,"_ he thought, grimacing as his armor cracked a little bit more under the strain, " _I can't take much more of this abuse."_ He squeezed the handful of gravel he'd picked up under the cover of the smoke from the explosion, " _I might not like this kind of move, but like Martin-sensei said: in a real fight, you've got to use every tool you've got!"_

With a spirited shout, Kirishima closed the distance between himself and Bakugo and brought his arm back in what appeared to be a huge haymaker that Bakugo preemptively sidestepped and raised his hand to counter but was surprised when Kirishima ground to a dead stop, and pivoted on his front foot like a major league pitcher, throwing his fist full of gravel as hard as he could at point blank range, nailing Bakugo with a hailstorm of almond to pea-sized rocks.

"Fuck!" Bakugo cursed, reflexes saving him once again by managing to cover up just in time to avoid getting hit in the face—or the eyes—by the stones. Even then, the exposed parts of his arms and his body began swelling up and even bleeding in certain places where he was hit. "What the fuck was that?!"

"My opening!" Kirishima shouted, lashing out with a low right kick to Bakugo's leg that hit with the force of a sledgehammer, knocking him off his feet and sending him tumbling to the ground like a stalk of wheat cut down by a scythe.

"Agh!" Bakugo grunted as he hit the ground, immediately rolling out of the way in time to avoid a crushing downward blow from Kirishima that cracked the ground. He was up on his feet in an instant, but it was clear from the way that he favored his left leg that he'd been hurt by that kick. Bakugo eyed the spot of damaged concrete that his head had just occupied moments ago. "What the fuck, stupid hair, you trying to kill me?"

"Sorry about that!" Kirishima apologized sincerely—he'd actually had not meant to throw that punch so hard. "Sometimes I can't control my strength when I get worked up! I'll try to hold back a little more next time."

Bakugo's eye twitched, "Hold back?" He repeated slowly, "Next time? The fuck you just say to me?" He growled, expression darkening with self-righteous anger now that his pride had officially been tweaked by Kirishima's good-intentioned words, "Don't you dare look down on me!" He cracked his knuckles and took a step forward.

(UA Sports Festival Stadium—Stands)

Allen winced as Jirou helpfully relayed what was being said to the rest of the people in the stands. "Oh, that's not good." He said, rising to his feet. "Yeah…this match is over. I'm gonna head to the waiting room now."

"What do you mean?" Kaminari asked, "Sure, Bakugo's been dominating most of this match, but Kirishima got him good with that kick. He's not going to be able to move around freely anymore."

"He won't need to." Allen replied, walking up the stairs, "He's pissed, and now he wants to make a point. Remember that blast he used to stop Uraraka's attack?"

Sero paled, "You're joking right?" he laughed nervously, "He wouldn't use that move against a classmate, right?"

"Against you or me? Probably not." Allen said, "But Kirishima? Right now he's probably thinking, 'He won't die as long as he Hardens up."

'BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!' A massive explosion rocked out, buffeting the stands with the winds created by the shockwave.

Midnight swished her crop. "Kirishima is out of bounds! The winner is Bakugo Katsuki!"

"See, I told you." Allen said matter-of-factly before walking into the interior of the stadium.

(UA Sports Festival Stadium—Waiting Room)

" _It's time."_ Allen thought, slipping on the pair of simple cloth gloves that he'd asked Yaoyorozu to make for him—he had no desire to accidentally bring his opponent into Fast Forward with him. He took a deep breath as he rose from his seat in the waiting room and began making his way to the arena. He hadn't bothered watching any of the other matches after Bakugo and Kirishima's, figuring that it would end up being Bakugo or Tokoyami that won their block in the end. No, he had bigger things to worry about at the moment—like the fact that the opponent he was about to face was—as far as he knew—the strongest high school student in the country. He needed to think—Todoroki wasn't just an obscenely powerful quirk; he was smart, incredibly athletic, and had crazy reflexes and skills to back it all up. Still, there had to be a way he could win.

" _Okay Allen, you can do this…Midoriya proved that he's vulnerable at close range, and he has to be hurting from that beating he just took._ " Especially those kicks and knees to the body and legs—Allen wouldn't have been surprised if Todoroki had cracked a rib. " _Either Recovery Girl had to treat him and he's just as tired as I am—if not more, since I got a decent amount of time to rest—or he's got a nice juicy weak spot for me to exploit…there's going to be an opening…I just have to find it and take him down before he knows what hit him."_

Allen squinted as he stepped out of the corridor and into the sunlight of the stadium and stared attentively at the waiting Todoroki, searching for any indication of weakness. The boy's face was as stoic as ever, but the telltale bags under his eyes revealed the unmistakable signs of a Recovery Girl treatment. " _Let's see…his posture's fine…breathing is even, unlabored…his stance? ...Bingo._ " Allen suppressed a smirk, " _He's trying to hide, it, but he's favoring his right leg…he probably asked Recovery Girl to focus on his upper body since he usually doesn't need to move all that much to win."_ The bare basics of a plan began to form in Allen's mind. " _Yeah, I can do this!"_ He thought, glaring across the ring directly into Todoroki's heterochromatic eyes.

" **Is everybody ready?"** Present Mic yelled, _"_ **For our first match of the semi-finals, we have class 1-A's speedy American, Allen Martin versus the student favored to win the whole thing, Todoroki Shoto! Both of these student's have had two…memorable matches leading up to this! Eraserhead! What's your prediction for this match?"**

" **No way to tell,"** Aizawa replied in his usual monotone, " **both of them are skilled fighters with powerful quirks, and both have taken a fair bit of damage during this tournament—it will all come down to whether or not Martin-kun will be able to close the distance against Todoroki-kun's long range attacks."**

"Are the two of you ready?" Midnight asked Allen and Todoroki, and at their nod, swung her crop with a crack, "Than let the first match of the semifinal BEGIN!"

Never taking his eyes off of Todoroki, Allen wasted no time in activating his quirk at the 4X level and took of running to his right just in time to dodge a huge wave of ice. " _Damn,"_ Allen thought as he saw the glacial wall essentially cut off half of the ring, " _Even when I'm boosted up to 4X, that shit moves pretty fast…and with how large it is, I might not have been able to get out of the way if I'd tried to stick to 2X._ "

Knowing that he couldn't afford to let Todoroki fight at his preferred range, Allen abruptly changed direction, juking to his left, avoiding another wave of ice, and than charged straight at Todoroki at a dead sprint. He plowed into the smaller boy with a lowered shoulder and sent him stumbling backwards. " _Can't let him catch his breath!"_ Allen thought. Stepping forward and pressing the initiative, Allen lashed out with a long left uppercut that he was impressed to see Todoroki—in a demonstration of experience combined with incredible reflexes—move his head in time to avoid, if only barely.

Still, no martial artist worth their salt ever threw just one punch, and so Allen caught Todoroki on the cheek with his follow up overhand right, snapping the scarred teen's head to the side and opening him up for a left straight to the solar plexus, doubling the teen over in a gasp of pain as the air was forcibly knocked out of his lungs.

"Got you!" Allen growled, taking the opportunity to grab the back of Todoroki's head and pull him tightly into the clinch. He quickly kneed Todoroki twice on his right side and then jerked his head downward, intent on putting him to sleep with a couple of knees to his pretty-boy face. That was, until Todoroki grabbed Allen's left arm and froze it from the hand up to his forearm. "Ah, fuck!" Allen cursed, letting go of Todoroki before his whole body could be encased in the ice and took a step back. Allen glanced down at the frozen limb with a grimace, the block of ice that encased his hand was thick and heavy, weighing at least 3 kilos. It was scary how much ice the scarred teen could produce in an instant—he'd only been holding Allen for maybe a tenth of a second in real time. " _He must be really good under pressure if he was able to counterattack while taking a beating in the clinch like that…I better not hold on to him again!"_

Still breathless, Todoroki was trying to take advantage of Allen's briefly halted assault by retreating to his preferred range. He was hoping for a chance to recover his wind, but Allen wasn't having any of that—he was still boosted up, and even if he weren't moving in slow motion to Allen's eyes, Todoroki's leg was still obviously bothering him.

"That was a mistake." He growled before he dashed in and swung the weighted limb like a club, smashing it against Todoroki's right elbow when he reflexively curled up to block the incoming shot, tearing his shirt and opening several gashes where the rougher parts of the ice connected with him. He gasped with pain before Allen head butted the shorter boy and side kicked him in the stomach, sending him tumbling. " _After what I went through for the sake of this match, there's no fucking way I'll let something like this stop me!"_

Allen continued his advance on the stunned Todoroki, and lashed out with a running soccer kick aimed at the downed boy's head with the hopes of finishing the fight then and there, but suddenly found himself frozen in place—not by ice, but the blast of fire that came out with a desperate wave of the downed and overwhelmed Todoroki's left side. Quickly climbing to his feet, Todoroki extinguished his flames as quickly as he had brought them out, looking stricken at his need to use them. Though he figured that Allen would back away when confronted with the close range threat of his flames, Todoroki blinked when he realized that the assault from his super fast, aggressive opponent had ceased despite turning his fire off. " _He stopped?"_ Todoroki thought, " _Why did he stop? I…he_ had _me!"_ He narrowed his eyes to stare at Allen and then widened them in realization when he saw the terror on the American's face. " _Oh…now I see."_

" _Fire, no, no, not fire can't get burned!"_ A panicked part of Allen's mind screamed when Todoroki lit up. As if they had a mind of their own, his legs carried him away from the oppressive wall of heat that had erupted from Todoroki. He was trembling, and not just because of the ice on his arm that was quickly sapping his body heat. When he noticed that Todoroki had gotten back to his feet, as well as the three meters of space between himself and his opponent, Allen bit back a curse. " _Fuck fuck fuck! No time to be scared! I've got to get back in there!"_ Putting what had just happened out of his mind, Allen charged forward in a desperate rush, only to end up gritting his teeth at a sudden eruption of pain in his leg—the tunnel vision caused by his momentary loss of composure allowed Todoroki to catch him with a sharp edge of the newest wall of ice, opening up a deep, nasty cut that began bleeding heavily.

" _Shit…this is bad,"_ Allen dimly realized as he felt his pant leg become sodden and wet with blood at an alarming rate made worse by his quirk. " _I need to end this,_ now. _Before I pass out._ " Without missing a beat, Allen continued his advance toward Todoroki, wetting his right hand with the blood seeping from his leg and closed the distance between the two in a fraction of a second. Once he was close enough, he sent a spray of his blood into the air with a flick of his wrist, right into Todoroki's face.

"Ugh!" Todoroki recoiled involuntarily in disgust reflexively wiping his blood spattered face, a momentary distraction that Allen took advantage of by kneeing him in the body and hitting him with a slicing downward elbow strike that caught Todoroki on the forehead, opening up the skin like a zipper and caused a gout of crimson blood to pour down his face into his left eye.

" _You make me bleed, I make you bleed."_ Allen thought vindictively, peppering a turtled-up Todoroki with a series of blows to the body and head before he was once again startled by an eruption of flame as Todoroki flared up his left side to encourage Allen to back off—and back off he did—the moment he felt the heat of the flames, Allen was once again on the other side of the ring in the blink of an eye. " _Fuck!"_ He gasped, narrowly dodging another ice flow. " _No, no, you idiot! Stop getting scared and fucking_ fight! _You knew he had fire! I can't lose this!"_ He was getting tired, in real time, the fight had only been going on for a little over a minute or so, but the strain of his practically nonstop assault while using Fast Forward at 4X, along with his frozen hand and arm weighing him down combined with his bleeding leg and already present fatigue was wearing him out fast. It seemed like Todoroki wasn't about to launch an attack, so Allen—needing a moment to catch his breath—deactivated Fast Forward but kept his guard up, ready to move again at a moment's notice.

"You almost had me there for a second." Todoroki said, breathing heavily and freezing the cut on his forehead closed before spitting out a mouthful of frozen blood. He shook his head, and glanced at his left hand with troubled eyes, "I didn't want to use my left for this fight, you know, but you gave me no choice. For that, you have my respect, but it's over now."

"Really?" Allen growled, putting pressure on his cut in an effort to staunch the steadily seeping blood, "How's that? From my end, this match has mostly been me using you as a sandbag!" A very tough sandbag at that—Allen was pretty surprised that Todoroki was still standing after the kinds of hits that he had landed on him. 15-year-old or not, Allen hit _hard_ , and he'd KO-ed full grown men during his training with less punishment than he'd dished out to Todoroki. " _For someone with such a pretty boy face, he sure can take a beating…he must have a lot of experience fighting larger and stronger opponents."_

"Take a look around you." Todoroki said, gesturing at the structures of ice surrounding them while simultaneously coating the ground surrounding him in a thin, slippery layer of ice as an extra precaution.

Allen glared at his opponent briefly, but did just that. He paled. "Oh…Oh _shit_." Allen hadn't noticed at the time, but the waves of ice that Todoroki had been sending out the entire time weren't as random as they had seemed at first. Unlike the bulky glaciers that he had used against Sero and Midoriya, these ice structures were roughly 3 meter tall steep, spiky walls that had effectively trapped him in a narrow corridor about two and a half meters wide—not nearly enough room to avoid an attack on the scale Todoroki was capable of.

Todoroki raised his right hand to his waist, grimacing at the pain this caused in his smashed elbow and aching ribs. "Give up—or don't, it doesn't matter to me. This match is over."

" _I'm fucked."_ Allen thought, swallowing hard, " _But even so…_ " He grit his teeth and activated Fast Forward at 8X, gambling everything he had left on one final assault, " _I'm not about to quit!"_

"Have it your way." Todoroki said as Allen charged—though he almost made it, covering an insane amount of distance in an instant, it wasn't enough. Todoroki could see it in the American boy's face the moment that he'd asked Allen to surrender that this was the only way this match could end. He summoned an ice floe that perfectly filled the remaining space between him and Allen, catching him and encasing him in ice just short of reaching his target.

"F-f-f-fuck. G-goddamn it!" Allen cursed, dropping out of Fast Forward and shivering as he struggled in vain to free himself from the confines of his icy prison. "C-c-ome on! _Move! Move goddamnit!"_

"There's no point in struggling," Todoroki said, holding a freshly created chunk of ice against his doubtlessly bruised if not re-cracked ribs, "that ice is over 20cm thick; it could support the weight of a car."

Midnight decided that this was a perfect time to step in. "Allen Martin is unable to move! Todoroki Shoto is the winner!"

Allen closed his eyes and grit his teeth, shaking from frustration as well as the cold while Todoroki melted him free of the ice. The crowd was going absolutely crazy with applause. " _I guess that only makes sense._ " Allen thought bitterly, " _After Iida and that train wreck with Mei, I bet most of them were hoping to see me lose._ "

" **What a show folks!"** Present Mic crowed, " **It may have only lasted a few minutes, but what a couple of minutes that was! After Martin-kun's last two matches, I didn't know what to expect, but that was action packed from start to finish! I don't think I'm alone in saying that I was sitting on the edge of my seat! Next up is the semifinal round number two! Tokoyami Fumikage versus Bakugo Katsuki! I can't wait!"**

(Recovery Girl's Clinic)

Thanks to the fairly serious injuries that various participants had accumulated during the tournament, Todoroki and Allen were sharing a room as Recovery Girl treated them. Wrapped in blankets, Allen distracted himself from the silence by munching on an iron rich snack while he soaked his frozen arm in a tub of lukewarm water. His cut leg was thickly wrapped with bandages—and he'd gotten a scathing lecture about that when Recovery Girl had gotten a good look at it. Apparently, the cut was a lot deeper than he'd initially thought, and his quirk had had sped up the bleeding enough that he was slightly anemic—preventing Recovery Girl from performing any treatment beyond standard medical care.

Todoroki sat in pensive silence as Recovery Girl treated his various wounds only speaking up when she got to the cut above his left eye. "You can leave that one." He said in a calm, quiet voice. "I'm going to need all the strength I can spare for the final round."

Recovery Girl let out a huff, "Don't be ridiculous," she chided the stoic teen, "That's a pretty nasty laceration!" She shot a glare briefly over at Allen, who made a point of looking elsewhere at that moment. "If I don't treat that now, you'll need to get stitches and it will most likely leave a scar!"

Todoroki let out a humorless laugh, "It's a bit late to worry about that, isn't it?" He replied, pointing to the vivid burn scar that covered his left eye. "Somehow I doubt that one more will make much of a difference."

Recovery Girl flushed when she realized what she had just said, "Yes…well. Fine, have it your way. Don't say I didn't warn you!" After injecting the area with a local anesthetic, she walked over to the door with a frown on her wrinkled face, "I'm going to get the suture kit from the other room while the drugs kick in," she informed them, "I'll be back in a few minutes…and you two had better be in the same place when I get back!" She closed the door behind her.

Allen stared morosely at the empty snack bag in his hands, regretting not asking Recovery Girl for more before she left. The atmosphere in the clinic was awkward and a heavy silence hung in the air. To cope with the stifling atmosphere, Allen closed his eyes and began breathing deeply; focusing all of his attention on his breath in a calming exercise that Aizawa had taught him during one of their sessions.

"You're scared of fire." It wasn't a question.

Allen opened his eyes and glanced over in surprise at Todoroki. He didn't expect the normally taciturn teen to be the first one to say anything. "Huh?"

"You could have won that fight," Todoroki said quietly, staring at his lap, "that exchange—I didn't actually want to use my fire, I put it out almost as soon as I used it…if you hadn't backed off, you could of won."

Allen squeezed his hand into a tight fist. " _I know that, damnit!"_ "Yeah," he ground out, "what's your point? You trying to pick a fight? Or do you wanna rub my nose in it?"

"No, I just…fire scares me too." Todoroki quietly admitted, catching Allen off guard.

"What?" Allen asked incredulously, " _You're_ scared of fire? _Why?_ That's your quirk isn't it?"

Todoroki snorted. "That's what Midoriya said to me too." He held up his left hand and stared at it, "For the longest time, I hated the fire part of me, I didn't want anything to do with my shitty old man's quirk…maybe I was scared that if I used it, I'd become just like him…when I was fighting with Midoriya…for a moment, I forgot about all of that. I thought I was strong enough to win with just my Mom's power…I guess you proved me wrong."

" _Shitty old man?"_ Allen thought in confusion, " _Isn't Endeavor his dad?"_ "Why wouldn't you want to be like Endeavor?" Allen asked, unable to comprehend Todoroki's thought process in that regard, and failed to notice the tension that appeared in his shoulders at the mention of the number two hero's name. Allen continued, "I won't speak to your home situation, because I don't know shit about it." Nor could he imagine it either—the idea of hating one of his parents was unthinkable to Allen. "But no matter what your relationship with your dad is like, there's a difference between being like Todoroki Enji and being like Endeavor. As far as pro heroes go, there aren't many better examples to follow than him. He's a beast."

Todoroki blinked at the excellent and logical point coming from a person who he had written off as skilled, but irrational and kind of stupid. "I'm surprised that you know my old man's name." He said after a moment.

Allen scoffed, "Midoriya's my best friend—how the fuck _wouldn't_ I know the name of the number two hero in Japan?"

"Hmm." Todoroki grunted in response. "I guess."

The boys were silent for a few moments. "So," Allen said, "why do you hate your dad?"

Todoroki looked sideways at Allen. "It's kind of a long story. I'd really rather not get into it right now."

Allen huffed. "Then give me the short version."

"Fine. My dad's a dick. The end."

"Wow, great story," Allen drawled sarcastically, "you should tell it at parties."

"What makes you think I don't?" Todoroki replied, perfectly deadpan, making Allen snort with laughter. "Why are you scared of fire?"

Allen's laughter died abruptly. "Well," he drawled, "I _did_ just get set on fire a couple hours ago. It's not exactly a fun experience."

Todoroki wasn't buying it. "It's because of what happened at USJ, isn't it? Because of your…" Todoroki trailed off and pointed at his own burn scar to make his point.

Allen swallowed hard and looked away. "If this is your way of telling me off for poking my nose into a sensitive subject, I'm sorry. You don't want to talk about your dad, and I don't want to talk about… _that._ "

"You get used to them eventually, you know." Todoroki said.

"What?"

"The scars. You get used to them." Todoroki was silent for a few seconds, "Seeing them, anyways. I can barely remember what I looked like without it now."

Allen clenched his fists and looked away. "That's not the problem." He said, "If I had gotten burned in the same spot while fighting, I wouldn't give a fuck—well, that's not true…I wouldn't give as much of one anyways. Heroics are a dangerous career and shit happens, I know that. I can just cover them up with that stuff that Midnight-sensei gave me." Allen paused, "Actually, do you want some of that? It'd probably work for you too. That shit works great."

Todoroki shook his head. "No thanks, I'm...I'm good."

Allen shrugged, "Let me know if you change your mind. Anyways, it's…I can feel them. Always. I'm always aware of them and it's just a constant reminder of what that sadistic fuck did to me, and how I couldn't do anything to stop it. It's not about the way they look."

Todoroki nodded. "No." he agreed, remembering the day that his mother was taken away from him, the look of insane panic on her face as she poured the boiling water on him. "No it's not."

After this exchange the two boys remained silent until Recovery Girl returned with the suture kit, and after testing to make sure that the anesthetic had kicked in, she sewed up the cut and covered it up with bandages. "All done," she said, leaning back to admire her handiwork, "you can go now. Do be a dear and try not to get punched in the face. I'd hate to have to redo all of that work."

Todoroki smiled faintly and gave Recovery Girl a polite bow, "Thanks. I'll try." He turned to leave.

"Hey Todoroki." Allen called out after him.

Todoroki stopped and looked over his shoulder. "What is it?"

"You had better not lose to Bakugo." Allen warned, "It's one thing for me to lose to the guy who won the whole thing, but if you lose to that fucking asshole—"

"Language!" Recovery Girl barked, whapping Allen in the head with her walking stick. "I'd don't want to hear anyone talk like a hoodlum in my clinic!"

"Ow! Fuu—dge," Allen hastily corrected himself when he saw Recovery Girl lift her walking stick threateningly, "Jesus, fine! If you lose to that jerk because you refused to use your whole power, I'll be taking my shattered pride out of your hide!"

"I'll keep that in mind." Todoroki replied, and walked out the door.

"He'd fucking better…" Allen grumbled, then yelped as he was sharply struck once more on the crown of the head. "Ow! Fuck! Shit! GODDAMNIT STOP! STOP HITTING ME WITH A FUCKING STICK YOU CRAZY OLD HAG!"

"WHAT DID I _JUST_ SAY?" Recovery Girl shrieked.

Outside the door, Todoroki picked up his pace. He could hear the two shouting from all the way down the hall and as far as he was concerned, the further he was from Recovery Girl's stick, the better.

 **AN: Chapter complete! I hope the Todoroki/Allen match was everything you were hoping for! Let me know what you think with a review! I'll be starting Ch. 3 rewrites now, and after that, I'll be wrapping up the Tournament Arc. Until next time!**


	21. Sports Festival Finale

Chapter 21: The Sports Festival Finale

Allen let out a soft grunt, moving as quickly as his fatigued body would allow. Since he had already been treated several times that day and wanted to remain conscious for the award ceremony, Recovery Girl had reluctantly accepted Allen's request to refrain from using her quirk to treat the deep gash on his leg beyond some bandaging and an anti-septic coagulant. He could walk if he absolutely needed to, but in the absence of the adrenaline that had powered him through the match, the pain coming from the wound made it difficult.

The reason for his haste was twofold: first and foremost, the intermission was almost over and he really wanted to get to the stands in time to see the final match. Additionally, he needed to get as far away from the infirmary as possible, since Recovery Girl had told him in no uncertain terms that he wasn't to leave his bed without her say so. Unwilling to do that, the moment she stepped out of the room, he grabbed a nearby pair of crutches and made his escape. After learning that Midoriya had gone through surgery and treatment for breaking all of his limbs and _still_ left to go watch the finals, Allen would be damned if he missed the fight because of some mild frostbite and a freaking _cut_.

' _Hmph,'_ Allen scoffed internally, ' _as if I would go along with that and miss the show! Who the fuck does she think she's talking to here?'_ At that moment, he heard the unmistakable angry voice of Recovery Girl in his room about 50 meters behind him.

"Martin! Get back in here!"

' _Fuck fuck fuck!'_

Looking backwards for any sign of the irate caregiver and fueled by panic, Allen picked up the pace. In his rush to move away from the septuagenarian nurse, he lost his situational awareness and he plowed right into somebody as they turned a corner. The metal frames of the crutches clattered loudly as they hit the ground and Allen fell directly onto his injured side, sending a white-hot lance of pain surging through the limb.

"Ow, _shit_!" Allen swore, grabbing his leg with a pained expression as it sent fresh waves of agony surging through his nervous system. "Goddamn it!"

"Sorry about that." The person he had just collided with said, "Are you okay?"

"Just peachy." Allen grunted through clenched teeth grabbing the crutch nearest to him. Its pair was unfortunately just out of reach. "Fucking of course." He muttered, scooting on his butt over to the other crutch. "Just perfect…"

The man let out a small chuckle, "Here, let me help you." He grabbed the other crutch and brought it over to Allen before helping him to his feet.

"Thanks," Allen said, looking up at the helpful man for the first time. "I appreciate…it." His voice trailed off as he took in the sight of the tall, handsome dark-haired man in his late twenties or early thirties, who—minus the lack of glasses—looked almost _exactly_ like Iida. His eyes widened as realization set in. "You must be Iida's brother…" Allen gaped at the pro, "Y-you're Ingenium!"

Iida Tensei nodded and smiled. "That's right, Tensei's the name. You a fan?" Tensei's smile slipped off his face momentarily as he gazed at Allen and narrowed his eyes in recognition. "And you must be Martin…uh…Allen, right? Tenya has complained about you a lot at home, and it seems I have you to thank for putting my little brother in a cast for the next week." Though the pro hero's tone was mild as he said this, the words themselves set off Allen's danger radar.

"He complains about me at home?" Allen asked before shaking his head, "Actually, never mind that, a _week_? I was told that his injuries weren't that serious!"

"You broke his knee with that stomp." Tensei said, still smiling humorlessly. "Luckily, the tendons seem to be mostly unharmed, but given the importance of his legs to his quirk, Recovery Girl doesn't want to rush treatment without running further tests over the next couple of days."

"Oh…." Allen trailed off, stammering, "I…um…I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…" He was able to apologize to Iida himself just fine, but he had no idea how to handle the older brother of the guy he had brutalized. He had no idea how close he came to permanently damaging Iida's prospects for a hero career with that move. He felt horrible about it all over again.

Allen's guilt must have been written all over his face because Tensei let out a good natured laugh and clapped a hand on Allen's shoulder, giving it a squeeze that was a just a _little_ bit too firm and lingered just a _little_ bit too long to be strictly friendly. "Hey, don't worry about it," he said, "I already talked with Tenya about it, and he explained the circumstances, so it's water under the bridge as far as I'm concerned." He leaned in, "Still, try not to do that again, or I might take it… _personally,_ understand?"

Allen swallowed, remembering that Ingenium was a very popular pro that was regularly listed as one of the top ten heroes in Japan—he didn't think that the Turbo Hero would actually physically harm him in any way, but he could easily have Allen blacklisted from the industry with only a few phone calls. He nodded quickly, "Y-yep! Got it."

"Good." Tensei replied, seemingly satisfied. His posture and smile suddenly became much friendlier and easygoing, and Allen let out a nervous breath that he didn't realize he'd been holding in. "You have a lot of potential kid. I'd hate to see it squandered. Tenya's way better at this than I was at his age, so being able to beat him like that is a pretty big deal in my books."

Allen blinked. He wasn't expecting to hear anything like that. "Uh, thanks." He replied, "Iida's a tough guy—easily one of the best in the class—my quirk is just a really bad match up for him."

Tensei raised an eyebrow. "That so? I'm glad that you think so highly of him. Make sure you tell _him_ that, though, from what I've heard he seems to think you have a pretty low opinion of him."

"What? That's not true at all," Allen said, confused. "Our personalities are super different, so it's true that we don't always get along…and to tell the truth, sometimes I annoy him just for kicks," he admitted, "but I know he's a good guy and I've always respected his abilities."

A buzzing sound came from Tensei's pocket. "Hang on a second," he said, digging out a phone and answering it, "duty calls. Tensei here, what's up?" He paused for a few seconds. "Hey, slow down, I'm having trouble understanding you…uh-huh… _what!?_ " As he listened to the caller, the easygoing smile slipped off of Tensei's face and his gaze became clouded over with anger. "Got it. I'm heading your way right now." Tensei hung up the phone and let out a quiet curse, balling his hands up into tight fists.

"Is everything okay?" Allen asked, voice tinged with curiosity, "What's up?"

"Sorry." Tensei replied in a tight voice, "I can't talk about it right now, but I'm sure you'll find out soon enough. Can you do me a favor and let Tenya know that I had to run? Something just came up that requires my immediate attention."

"Uh…yeah, sure." Allen nodded, "no problem."

"Thanks." Tensei replied before spinning on his heel and quickly made his way over to the stairway, "Nice to meet you Allen, maybe I'll be seeing you around."

' _I wonder what that was all about?_ ' Allen thought as he watched the Pro walk away with a visible sense of purpose in his stride. ' _Whatever it is, he looked_ pissed.'

Allen shrugged and began his trek down the hallway once more after shooting a quick text to Iida about his brother. Allen was sure that it was none of his business—besides, he had other worries at the moment. He shifted the crutches under him and began his journey to his section of the stands once more.

(UA Sports Festival Stadium—Ring)

"You better use your fire side against me if you know what's good for you, Icy-Hot." Bakugo leveled an angry gaze Todoroki's way, staring unblinkingly into the other teen's mismatched eyes.

Todoroki raised an eyebrow at Bakugo's attempt at intimidating him. Though he normally would have found such a thing utterly laughable, Todoroki certainly didn't see any humor in the current situation. It was impossible to tell underneath the long sleeves of his tracksuit, but his entire body was an aching mess of ugly, tender bruises. His fights against Midoriya and Allen had been utter disasters as far as he was concerned. He could handle a great deal of punishment—he had been taking vicious hits from his father in training since he was five, after all—but he had been pounded into pulp throughout the day and he was feeling the effects.

On the other hand, Bakugo practically looked fresh as a daisy. Other than the big hit he took from Kirishima, the only damage he had suffered throughout the entire tournament was the blowback from his own quirk, and even that had been light enough that treatment from Recovery Girl had barely phased him.

' _This doesn't look good for me._ ' Todoroki mused as he mentally ran through his prior observations of Bakugo's abilities and fighting style one final time, ' _My mobility is severely impaired. I might be too beat up to win against him.'_ He shifted uncomfortably as he came to this realization. ' _Still, I don't plan on losing here.'_ Only years of practice in keeping a stoic face at all times kept him from wincing as his aching ribs throbbed with pain at the slight movement.

Midnight's crop whistled through the air, "Begin!"

Wasting no time, Todoroki dug deep and let loose a massive blast of ice, covering the entire other side of the stage in a glacier, though it was barely half the size of the one he had used on Sero.

' _I can't afford to gamble everything on finishing this in one shot. Based on what I've seen, Bakugo is powerful enough to get out of that.'_ Todoroki narrowed his eyes and leveled a wary gaze at the giant ice structure. As he waited and watched, he brushed a bit of frost off of his right sleeve. _'I have to be ready.'_

For a moment, it seemed like the preemptive attack had done the trick, but that was proven incorrect by the faint sound of explosions gradually growing louder until the front of the ice formation was blasted outwards and Bakugo emerged from the steaming hole with a vicious look on his face.

"You'll have to do better than that, Icy-Hot!" Bakugo shouted, sprinting forward and boosting his speed with explosive force, flying towards Todoroki like a human bullet and traveling the length of the ring with alarming speed.

Mentally already on the defensive, Todoroki made a sweeping motion with his right hand, creating a semi-circular wall of ice.

' _Okay_ ,' Todoroki thought, immediately side stepping to his left with as much speed as he could muster, ' _that should block his vision and forward momentum. Now he's got no choice but to go over the top or blast through it to keep from plowing face first into the wall.'_ He gathered his focus and prepared to use his quirk at a moment's notice. _'Either way, I'll be ready.'_

 _~Boomboomboomboomboom~_

A series of rapid-fire explosions sounded off and Todoroki reacted instantly, creating two lance-like ice formations. One was aimed skyward, the other at the center of the barrier; regardless of whether he chose to go over the wall or through it, both were positioned directly in Bakugo's expected flight path.

"DIE!" Todoroki's eyes widened as Bakugo's form emerged—not from the top or through the middle, but from the left side of the wall.

' _He went around?'_ Todoroki realized in shock, ' _How can he handle changes in direction that sudden? A normal person wouldn't even remain conscious from the g-forces, let alone pull that off and remain in control!'_

As soon as his feet touched the ground, Bakugo used another explosion from his right palm to stop his directional momentum, then swung his left arm behind him while letting off a series of explosions with an outward facing palm, using them to add speed and add power to the spinning right backfist that he cracked Todoroki across the face with like a whip. The powerful blow staggered Todoroki and ripped open the stitches holding the cut above his eye together.

Reflexively, Todoroki slapped his hand to his brow to staunch the flow of blood by freezing it shut once more. ' _Damn!'_ Todoroki thought, wiping away the bit of blood that managed to escape with his sleeve, ' _I should have had Recovery Girl treat that after all, this is going to be a nuisance for the rest of the fight!'_

Not letting up for an instant, Bakugo lunged forward, lashing out with a big explosive swing that Todoroki only barely managed to avoid by creating a floe of ice that slid him backwards out of range. ' _That was different from the previous attack just now…he's off balance,'_ Todoroki observed, ' _he's good with that kung-fu style Martin and Ojiro were talking about when he remembers to use it, but he's clearly not very experienced with it yet. He still hasn't internalized it.'_

"You're predictable, you half-and-half bastard!" Bakugo jeered; sprinting forward and casually blowing away another wave of ice sent his way. "You won't be able to corral me like the idiot! Now, use your fire you fucker! I want to be the indisputable number one! There's no meaning in beating someone who doesn't do their best!" Todoroki did not use his fire, responding to Bakugo's demand instead by slapping his right hand on the ground and covering the entirety of the ring with several centimeters of ice in an instant.

Bakugo let out a scoff and leapt into the air, preventing his feet from becoming trapped in the ice. "Really?" he spat, "If you didn't catch me with this little trick during the race, what makes you think you could get me now?" Bakugo clenched his fist and intensified his glare. "You're underestimating me…and that really pisses me off!" With that, he launched himself towards Todoroki once more.

Reaching out towards the airborne Bakugo with his right hand, Todoroki tried to counter-attack with more ice, but Bakugo read the attack and used an explosion to dodge to his left, grabbing hold of Todoroki's arm and collar. Flipping over Todoroki in an impressive display of acrobatics, Bakugo initiated the beginning of a throw, however, as soon as he landed and tried to shift his weight, the lack of traction on the ice caused his feet to slip, making the two boys collapse into a pile with Todoroki on top.

"It's not that I'm underestimating you," Todoroki said, seizing the advantage by grabbing Bakugo by his left arm. Working quickly, Todoroki twisted the limb into an awkward position and froze it to the ground in a way that effectively worked as a shoulder lock.

"It's just that my shoes are designed to grip ice…and yours aren't." He pulled himself to his feet and stared down at Bakugo as he struggled to free his hand despite his lack of leverage, "Now, time to end this." He looked to Midnight. "Call it, he's not getting out of this."

"As if I'd let you win like this!" Bakugo snarled, violently twisting his body around until there was sickening _pop,_ wrenching his shoulder out of its socket for a few precious centimeters of reach _._

The crowd let out a collective gasp and Todoroki was so taken aback that he took a few steps back. With the extra reach, Bakugo was able to blast the ice encasing his arm, freeing it before quickly retreating away from his stunned opponent, making his way over to the wall of ice Todoroki had created earlier. Never taking his eyes off of Todoroki, Bakugo lifted his limp left arm and slammed his shoulder into the ice wall without hesitation, resetting it with another loud pop.

"That really sucked," Bakugo growled, glaring molten daggers at Todoroki as he rotated the self-injured limb, testing its range of motion. "You're gonna pay for making me do that, Icy-Hot."

(UA Sports Festival Stadium—Stands)

"Holy _shit!_ " Allen shouted, "That was…that was just…" He didn't want to say it. He hated the idea of giving Bakugo any credit or respect in the slightest, but what he just saw his least favorite classmate do was straight up _badass_ —stupid, but badass.

"Bakugo!" Kirishima had what looked like tears of joy in his eyes, "That was so freaking manly!"

"That was really gross." Asui said, making the rest of the girls watching nod in agreement.

"Why are there so many crazy people in this class?" Mineta asked, face pale. "There's Midoriya breaking his bones and having to get surgery, Allen going berserk on Iida, and now this? What's wrong with you people? This is a sports festival, not a fight to the death!"

Looking embarrassed at the mention of his reckless fighting style, Midoriya opened his mouth to defend himself, but a glance at his permanently warped hand caused him to close it without a word. Seeing his dilemma, Uraraka consoled Midoriya by patting him on the back.

"I have to agree with Mineta on this one," Jirou chimed in, looking a bit green herself, "his shoulder might never be the same again because of his little stunt. He should have just given up."

"Actually, I think it may have already been fucked." Allen replied, "He didn't even hesitate before slamming that shit back into place. He's definitely done this before."

Asui poked Allen in the side of the head without looking away from the match, "Language." She croaked.

Annoyed, Allen turned and stared Asui down for a few seconds. "Really?" He finally asked, "I didn't say anything the first couple of times, but is this gonna be a thing now? You never gave me shit about my language before." He swatted away her finger when she tried to poke him again. "Stop that, it's annoying."

"So is the constant and habitual profanity, ribbit." Asui held firm, "It's trashy, Ren-chan. I put up with it when we were just friends, but I don't want a boyfriend who talks like that all the time, why do you think Bakugo hasn't ever had a girlfriend despite his looks?"

"Because he's a perpetually angry, self-centered, rude, arrogant asshole?"

"That was a rhetorical question, Ren-chan."

"And I gave you a rhetorical answer."

Asui let out a long-suffering sigh and shook her head. "Just try and tone down the swearing, please. For me, ribbit."

"Stop having your lovey-dovey couple's fight and pipe down!" Mineta loudly complained, disgruntled by the affection evident between the two despite the argument. "Some of us are trying to watch the match!"

"I'll say the same to you." Jirou grumbled, "You're being way louder than they are."

"But—!" Mineta protested.

"Shut up!" Multiple nearby people shouted, silencing the diminutive teen.

Allen wrapped an arm around Asui's shoulders and grinned cheekily before winking at Mineta, making him seethe with jealousy. ' _That's right you little shit, cry about it some more.'_

Asui poked him again, but didn't remove his arm. She saw what he had done and wasn't amused. "Don't antagonize him like that, Ren-chan, it's really immature."

"But—" Allen began to defend himself.

"Character defects aside, Midoriya and I wouldn't have survived USJ without Mineta-chan's help. Be nice, ribbit."

"…Fine." Allen muttered. He shot a glare at Mineta, who was looking at Asui with something akin to stars in his eyes, "But I'm watching him."

(UA Sports Festival Stadium—Ring)

' _This guy…_ ' Todoroki stared incredulously at his opponent, shocked and impressed at Bakugo's ferocious tenacity, " _he intentionally dislocated his shoulder to break free from the ice like a animal chewing off its own leg to get out of a trap.'_ Unbidden, the words of his classmates started flooding into Todoroki's head.

' _Everyone—everyone here is giving it their all, trying to achieve their dreams, trying to make it to the top…and you, you say you're gonna win with_ _half_ _of your power? Give me a fucking break!'_

' _You had better not lose…If you lose to that jerk because you refused to use your whole power, I'll be taking my shattered pride out of your hide!'_

' _I want to be the indisputable number one! There's no meaning in beating someone who doesn't do their best!'_

Out of the corner of his eye, Todoroki glanced briefly at the fiery form of Endeavor in the stands and shook his head. ' _I can't let that bastard define who I am. I won't. Not anymore.'_ His decision made, he ignited his left side, melting the frost covering the other half of his body. "Sorry Bakugo." He apologized, "I've been rude, haven't I? You want everything I've got? You've got it."

Bakugo grinned and began to run towards Todoroki. "That's what I like to hear, half-and-half!"

Still inexperienced with using his left side in combat, the blast of fire that Todoroki fired at Bakugo to keep him at bay was hundreds of degrees hotter than he'd intended to make it. Todoroki paled—his father had admonished him for his dangerous lack of control over his fire but he didn't want to hear it—now he was worried that he might have badly burned Bakugo. He was relieved when the blond bomber successfully defended by blasting away the stream of flames with a medium-sized explosion.

Bakugo let out a curse—he'd used his left arm in that blast without thinking and the recoil on his injured shoulder was excruciating. While Bakugo cursing was nothing out of the ordinary, Todoroki noticed his pained expression and—after adjusting the temperature—pounced on the obvious weakness, firing blast after blast of fire and ice at the Explosion user's left side, trying to force him to use his left palm to dodge to the right.

Over the next couple of minutes, circumstances forced Bakugo to adapt his strategy, switching from an all-out assault to hit and run tactics. Making good use of the thick mist that had formed when the moisture condensed by Todoroki's ice came into contact with the superheated air from his flames, Bakugo darted in and out of sight, hiding behind the various ice structures that still remained, emerging only to blast the ground at an angle before retreating once more, simultaneously ridding the ground of its icy surface as well as pelting Todoroki with pulverized concrete shrapnel.

Todoroki was becoming increasingly agitated. Thanks to the use of his fire, the ice that he had frozen his head wound shut with had melted. Bleeding as freely as head wounds are known to do, the gash impaired his vision and sapped his strength. To make matters worse, it had only taken a few shots for the surly teen to realize Todoroki's hesitance and lack of confidence in using his left side. With this knowledge in his arsenal, Bakugo began powering through Todoroki's fire attacks to his left, relying on his body's natural heat resistance thanks to his quirk and attacking Todoroki's weaker side almost exclusively.

"I'm getting real tired of this." Todoroki grumbled, shooting off another wave of ice that Bakugo avoided with a one handed blast. He utterly exhausted and nearing his limit. In addition to his wounds from the previous matches, Todoroki was freely bleeding in several places where he had been hit by the concrete shrapnel. While none of the chunks of cement packed much of a punch on their own, they were taking their toll as he accumulated more and more damage. "I need to decide this quickly."

"Took the words right out of my mouth Icy-Hot!" Bakugo shouted, emerging from a shroud of mist and dust. "Now EAT THIS!" He skidded to a halt, winding up a big throw and hurling something about the size of an egg at Todoroki. Recognizing the tactic that had been used by Kirishima the moment that Todoroki saw the windup motion, he reflexively moved to dodge and shot off a blast of fire at his momentarily immobile opponent.

Though he had been wondering why Bakugo would bother throwing anything rather than simply blasting the ground at an angle like he had been doing for the last several minutes, it was the sight of Bakugo's triumphant grin that tipped Todoroki off that something was horribly wrong. Moving on instinct, Todoroki barely had enough time to call up a wall of ice before the object that Bakugo threw lit up in a massive explosion, blowing straight through the hastily erected ice barrier and sending Todoroki tumbling like a person thrown from a high-speed car. When the smoke cleared, he was lying face down on the ground, out of the bounds of the ring.

Concerned, Midnight ran over to the downed Todoroki and checked him. He was unconscious, but still breathing. She raised her hand and then pointed at Bakugo, who was breathing heavily. "Todoroki is out of bounds! Bakugo is the winner!"

(UA Sports Festival Stadium—Stands)

The crowd went absolutely nuts over this massive upset. Despite using all of his enormous power, the son of the number two Hero and the most talented member of their year had still lost to Bakugo. Unlike the crowd, everyone in Class 1-A was silent as the grave, completely shocked at what they had just seen. Everyone, that is, except Allen, who was on the verge of a temper tantrum at the result.

"Are you kidding me! What the fuck was that shit?" Allen shouted, red in the face as he warded off the poke from Asui at the profanity. "What just happened? How did he create an explosion that didn't come from his palm? I didn't know he could do that!" He turned to Midoriya, furiously writing in his notebook and muttering up a storm. "Did _you_ know he could do that?" Midoriya didn't answer, oblivious to his friend's question as he continued to mutter under his breath and hastily write in the notebook. " _Midoriya!_ "

Midoriya jumped. "Ah! Yeah! Sorry. No, I've never seen him do that before, but I think I know how he did it."

The class, which had been too shocked to respond to anything else, collectively turned to Midoriya when he said that, making him shrink in on himself a little bit under the weight of their collective attention. "Well?" Uraraka asked, leaning into Midoriya's personal space without regard for his sanity due to her curiosity and turning him bright red as a result. "How did he do it then?"

"W-w-well," Midoriya squeaked, pointedly looking away from her visible cleavage and hiding his face behind his notebook, "if I'm correct, he took a page out of Uraraka-san's book and used the mist and smoke from his explosions as cover to do that." He pointed at Bakugo's left shoulder, which was sporting a torn off sleeve. "After tearing off his sleeve, he grabbed one of the pieces of rubble from his explosions and wrapped the cloth around it. While he was avoiding Todoroki-kun's fire attacks, he held it in his injured left hand, collecting the sweat in the cloth like a primitive version of his costume's gauntlets."

"Oh I see!" Yaoyorozu chimed in—she had left Iida's side to watch the final match and had been similarly stunned by the outcome. "When he threw the rag soaked with his sweat and it was hit by the heat of Todoroki-san's flames..."

"Boom." Midoriya confirmed with a nod.

Kaminari shivered at the thought. "Man, that's freaking scary. If that sweat of his can be ignited by stuff other than him, then that means it would have worked on me too."

"Let's be honest," Jirou said, placing a hand on Kaminari's shoulder, "there's no way you would have beaten Bakugo even if he didn't have that trick."

Kaminari looked pained as the class laughed, "Why must you be the screen door in my submarine, Jirou? It's messed up."

 **"Alright, everybody!"** Present Mic's boisterous voice boomed over the loudspeaker, " **Wasn't that a jaw dropping conclusion to this year's sports festival? I personally can't wait to see what kind of heroes our talented kids turn out to be! Stay tuned, listeners! After a short commercial break, we'll be beginning the award ceremony, presented by a very special guest! All Might himself!"**

" **On that note,"** Aizawa cut in, **"those of the final four not currently in the infirmary please make their way to the waiting room in the next five minutes. Some people have actual work to do and would like to get out of here _some time_ today."**

" **You just can't help but be a buzz kill, can you Eraserhead?"**

(Fifteen Minutes Later)

Allen couldn't help but scowl when he saw the self-satisfied smirk on Bakugo's face as he took his place at the top of the podium. ' _Smug bastard,'_ he thought bitterly, ' _You're just lucky that Todoroki had to go up against me and Midoriya before you.'_

Allen glanced at Todoroki looking pensive as he stood on the second place part of the podium—like Allen, he was heavily bandaged up from his back-to-back brutal matches, and had waved off treatment from Recovery Girl in favor of being able to be present for the ceremony. Even if he knew about the outcome of the final outcome of festival at the time, Allen didn't think it would have affected how hard he fought for the win in his match with the ace of class 1-A, however, he couldn't help but wonder how much of Todoroki's loss to Bakugo was his fault.

"Young Allen!"

Allen glanced up at the grinning face of All Might. ' _Oh...that's right_ , _this is happening right now.'_ Shaking the cobwebs out of his head, Allen stood up a little straighter as the number one hero slipped a medal around his neck.

"Your tenacity and determination to win in spite of your clear exhaustion was a sight to behold, my boy." All Might praised before pulling Allen in for a hug and lowering his voice, "I am well aware of your work with Aizawa in overcoming your more…ahem...'mental' struggles, but know that if you need any more advice you can come to me or any of your other teachers for help. You are not alone in this my boy. We all have our demons."

Allen nodded, "I…thank you All Might." All Might merely nodded in acknowledgement and moved on to Tokoyami, then Todoroki, repeating the process of medal, praise, hug and advice for each of the contenders until he reached Bakugo.

"Young Bakugo," All Might began, "first of all, let me congratulate you on your magnificent victory! You have an excellent grasp on the fundamentals of your quirk and how to use it effectively in practically any situation." At the praise, Bakugo's shoulders drew back and his usual self-satisfied smirk morphed into a genuine, happy smile as he nodded and thanked All Might without a hint of conceit.

' _Wow,'_ Allen realized, slightly unnerved at this radical transformation, ' _I guess it's easy to forget cause of his shitty attitude, but in his own fucked up way, Bakugo looks up to All Might as much as anybody._ '

"That being said," All Might continued, going in for the hug but pulling back when rebuffed by the prickly teenager, "You have a tendency to over-rely on brute force. I'd like to see you further develop the strategic side that you displayed in your match with Young Todoroki. I can tell you from experience that relying on the strength of your quirk rather than the strength of your mind can only take you so far."

Just like that, Bakugo's eyes hardened and the young man who was genuinely thrilled to be praised by his idol vanished. "Understood." He said, nodding briskly and internalizing the advice.

With that, the Sports Festival finally came to an end. Allen was so tired that the rest of the day passed in a blur. He laughed out loud at All Might's failure to read the mood with his call for a cheer of "Good work!" rather than "Plus Ultra!" that the crowd expected.

When she finally caught up to him, Recovery Girl gave Allen a sound reaming for running out on her before the start of the final match, not ceasing in her rant even as she treated his wounds. Feeling too tired to make the trip home and the subsequent walk from the station to his house, he called his parents and informed them that he would be staying over at Midoriya's place that night. On the train, he and Midoriya commiserated over their loss to Todoroki and discussed the events of the day. Midoriya's reaction at dinner when Allen casually mentioned that he was dating Asui was priceless.

" _What_?" Midoriya squeaked, choking on his bowl of Katsudon and spewing a mouthful of rice across the table.

" _Izuku!_ " Inko gasped, clapping her red-faced son on the back, "Are you alright?"

Midoriya took a long drink of water. "I'm fine mom, don't worry about me!" He addressed Allen, "How did this happen? When? Where? _Why?_ "

Nonplussed, Allen wiped a few rogue chunks of rice off of his face. "Dude," he complained, "I think you got some in my bowl…not cool." Despite saying this, Allen picked his chopsticks back up and took another bite of his meal. At Inko and Midoriya's incredulous stares over this action, Allen raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"D-didn't you just say—" Inko hesitantly began, but stopped when Allen waved her off.

"It's whatever," Allen reassured her, "a little spit is fine as long as he isn't sick or anything, I've never been super squeamish about that. Besides," he added, "no way in hell I'm letting your cooking go to waste." Allen leaned in conspiratorially, "Don't tell my mom I said this," he whispered, "but your cooking is _waaaay_ better than hers, by like, a lot."

Inko blushed at the praise and began waving her hands in a manner eerily similar to her son. "Oh no," she deflected, "I'm sure you're just saying that to be polite."

"No," Allen replied, a little mournfully, "I'm really not. Midoriya knows." He kicked his friend under the table, "You've eaten my mom's cooking before, tell her."

"Umm." Midoriya said, feeling put on the spot and not wanting to talk down Allen's mother's food. "It's not that bad. It's certainly…uh, interesting."

"Dude, I'm _fifteen_ and I'm a better cook than her." Allen rolled his eyes. "I love my mom, but she's totally taste-deaf."

"Wait," Midoriya said, "how did we get on this? You and Asui-san! When?"

Allen shrugged, "Right after your match with Todoroki. We had a moment in the med clinic after my match with Iida and after talking about it, decided to just go for it. I don't know why you're so surprised, did you not see me hugging her when we were sitting next to you in the stands?"

"I was focused on the match!" Midoriya defended himself.

"Well, good for you." Inko said with a smile. She rubbed her chin contemplatively, "That name sounds familiar…Izuku, haven't you mentioned this Asui girl before?"

"Yeah," Midoriya replied, "she's one of the two classmates I ended up working during the…uh…" He trailed off, not wanting to bring up the USJ and upset his mother all over again.

"Oh." Inko's face fell at the implicit reminder of the incident that almost killed her son. "Is she cute?" she asked, forcing a smile and trying to change the subject to something less uncomfortable.

Allen nodded and grinned. "She seems to have some confidence issues about it for some reason, but I definitely think so." He pulled out his phone and brought up the selfie that he had taken with her that afternoon. In it, Allen was wearing his medal with a tired grin on his face and had an arm around her shoulders. "This is her."

"Oh," Inko said, a little surprised, "she's a mutant type." Seeing Allen tense slightly, she quickly added, "But you're right, she certainly is cute! Congratulations!"

"Thanks." Allen said. A mischievous glint appeared in his eye. "Now Midoriya just needs to man up and ask out Uraraka and we can start going on double dates."

Just like that, both of the Midoriyas at the table began choking on their food for different reasons, letting out simultaneous cries of " _Allen/Izuku!_ " while Allen cackled at his friend's expense.

' _Maybe everything didn't go exactly as I would have liked,_ ' Allen mused as he watched Inko grill her son over this mystery girl that he had neglected to mention, ' _but all in all, today was a good day.'_

 **AN: What's up everyone? It's been a while, and for that I apologize, but summer school is kind of a bitch. The Sports Festival arc has finally drawn to a close and we are about to begin one of my favorite parts of the story, The Internship arc! I've been looking forward to this for a long time, so I hope you guys are as psyched as I am. Fair warning, Allen's presence in the story have shifted things in significant ways, so things are going to be quite a bit different from canon from here on out.**

 **Let me know in the reviews what you thought of the arc, and the final fight in particular. Who do you think should have won under those circumstances and why?**


	22. Hero Names, Internships, and Consequence

Semper Fast Ch. 22

Internships, Hero Names and Consequences

Allen thought that he was used to standing out. Not only was he an obvious foreigner living in what was still a highly homogenous society, he was a little over 10cm taller than the average Japanese male, so he attracted curious glances wherever he went. However, he was entirely unprepared for the notoriety that came with being a finalist in the UA Sports Festival. Most tried to be subtle about it, but Allen kept catching people doing double takes and openly staring at him as he passed them.

"Hey look!" A salaryman on the train whispered to the passenger next to him, "It's that American kid from the sports festival."

"What?" The other man replied, excitedly turning to look in the indicated direction. "Really?"

Allen tensed. It was still Japan after all, so almost everybody had been polite; most people simply congratulated him on his performance against Todoroki, or made joking references to his extended sales pitch with Mei. To Allen's horror, that particular match was really blowing up on YouTube, with certain parts being heavily featured in multiple "Try Not to Cringe" challenges.

Not every reaction was so benign, some people had come out and actively disparaged him. It had only happened once or twice in public so far, but his social media had become a constant deluge of hate following his loss of control against Iida. It had only been a little over two days, but it was bad enough that Allen had to temporarily withdraw from every platform, completely souring his perspective on his fifteen minutes of fame. As far as he was concerned, the sooner this whole thing blew over, the better.

"Holy crap, it really is! He's the one who went all psycho on Ingenium's little brother. I couldn't believe that they let him compete after that."

"Lower your voice!' The salaryman shushed the other man, "What if he hears you?"

' _And there we go.'_ Allen shifted uncomfortably before pulling up the hood of his raincoat and putting his headphones in—he still had another two stops before the station closest to UA and he didn't want to hear any more. He cranked up the music as loud as he could handle, hoping to block out any more comments from the peanut gallery.

Rather than stew over his mixed public perception, Allen's thoughts turned instead to Iida Tensei. Over the two-day break following the festival, Allen had learned from the news exactly what had upset Ingenium so greatly. The mysterious phone call that caused Ingenium to leave the stadium had been from his agency, informing the popular pro that the notorious villain Stain—an elusive serial killer who targeted heroes—had gutted Native, one of his agency's sidekicks, with ruthless efficiency before leaving him to bleed out and die in an alley.

Taking the slaying personally, Ingenium had made several appearances on television, vowing to bring Stain to justice. If the rumors were to be believed, Tensei had asked Native to come in on his day off and take over his patrol as a personal favor so he could watch his little brother compete in the Sports Festival. Allen could only imagine how Ingenium felt, but thought that if he were in Tensei's shoes, and it were one of _his_ friends who'd been left to die in the gutter like a dog, he sure as hell wouldn't be looking for an arrest if he got his hands on the one responsible.

Continuing to ruminate on the subject even after he'd arrived at his stop, Allen was snapped out of his thoughts by the sensation of a hand grabbing him by the shoulder. Midoriya was standing behind him with an annoyed look on his face. Allen pulled his headphones out. "Oh. Hey dude, what's up?"

Midoriya looked aghast at the noise he could still hear coming from the headphones in the crowded train station. "I've been calling your name for the last ten seconds and you didn't respond until I grabbed you. How high did you have the volume? You're going to go deaf like that."

Allen shrugged, "High enough. I didn't want to hear people talking about me on the train."

"People were speaking rudely about you on the train loud enough for you to hear it? How despicable!" Allen and Midoriya turned to see Iida quickly approaching them with a pair of crutches. "If I had witnessed such behavior, I would have given them a piece of my mind!"

Allen could understand his disgust at hearing that. Just talking on the train was considered a faux pas by itself—openly disrespecting someone within earshot at the same time must have violated every sense of good manners that Iida possessed.

Allen suppressed the twinge of guilt that he felt when he looked at the cast encasing Iida's leg. Overwhelmed with guilt, he'd been in contact with the fussy teen multiple times in the last two days to apologize, but had been repeatedly told to let it go. "Uh, thanks, Iida-san." Allen replied, reminding himself to be polite. "I appreciate the sentiment, but wouldn't have that just made a bigger scene?"

"Not at all!" Iida replied, reflexively waving his crutch in a robotic motion and making Allen lean out of the way to avoid being hit. "Of course, I would have done my utmost to be subtle in order to avoid inconveniencing the other passengers! Now, let us make haste to class! It wouldn't do for UA students to be late!"

Allen and Midoriya shared a look as Iida pushed past them, simultaneously consumed by doubt that their class rep was capable of being subtle about anything.

"You do know that class doesn't start for twenty minutes, right?" Allen asked, effortlessly keeping up. "We've got plenty of time."

Iida's glassed shined as he pushed them up the bridge of his nose. "As UA students, we should be at least ten minutes early!"

"Sorry if this is a sensitive subject, but how's your brother doing, Iida-kun?" Midoriya asked, pumping his arms and legs in a power walk in order to keep up with his friends. Allen's strides were big, and Iida was still fast, even on a broken leg. "From what I've seen and read online, he's taking Native's death pretty hard."

Iida deflated at the question and slowed down a bit. "I don't know," he replied in a concerned tone, "Nii-san has not been home since it happened. I worry that he is putting every waking hour into hunting this Hero Killer case."

"I wouldn't doubt it." Allen agreed, "I told you I was there when he got the call, right? He looked _pissed_. It was even scarier than when he was threatening me for you."

Iida looked scandalized. "My brother would _never_ do something like that! He's an honorable hero who always does things by the book! You take that back right now!"

"Dude, chill." Allen told Iida, waving off his concerns. "It's cool. Maybe 'threatening' was too strong of a word. He didn't say he would harm me, or anything explicit; it was more of a polite warning. He just said that he would 'take it personally' if I hurt you again. Seems like standard big brother stuff to me. It's no big deal."

Iida's face scrunched up. He looked torn between being touched by Tensei's defensiveness and embarrassed that his older brother thought it was necessary to fight his battles for him. "I see…I can see how you would interpret that as a threat. Still, I apologize. Even if it was subtle, a hero of my brother's stature should not be making any threatening implications towards my classmates."

"Like I said," Allen replied, "it's cool. Despite the whole 'getting threatened' part of the exchange, I actually kind of liked your brother from what I saw of him. He seems like a cool guy."

Iida beamed. "Yes, he truly is!" He said proudly.

"Makes me wonder how you're related to him."

Midoriya let out a sigh as Iida bristled at the verbal jab. Allen snickered and continued to needle Iida the entire way to class.

(Classroom 1-A)

Much to Iida's consternation, it was only five minutes before the bell by the time that the three boys walked into the classroom. To Allen's surprise, the room was nearly full already. They weren't the last ones to arrive, but it was a close thing. The class was buzzing with excitement about the results of the Sports Festival and the taste of fame that came with it.

Kaminari had a big grin on his face. "Man," he said, "the past two days have been totally crazy! People have been asking for pictures left and right! I knew UA was amazing but it's like I'm a celebrity!"

"That _is_ amazing," Jirou snarked, "especially considering the way you beat yourself in the finals without your opponent having to do anything." The class chuckled at Kaminari's outraged sputtering.

"You think that's bad?" Sero complained, "A group of elementary schoolers told me 'Nice Try' on the way to school today!"

"Nice try." Asui chimed in, making Sero let out a loud groan.

"God damn, Tsu-chan," Allen laughed as he walked up to the group, "that was brutal. Why you gotta kick a guy when he's down?"

"Morning Ren-chan." Asui said, "Are you feeling fully recovered from the festival?"

Allen grinned and grabbed his bicep. "Good as new."

After a few minutes of chatting, Iida instructed everyone to get to his or her desks. Allen plopped down in his seat and turned to Ojiro. "How about you, man? No lingering soreness?"

Ojiro nodded. "I was never hurt too badly in the first place. You were worse off than me at the end of the day."

"That's true." Allen conceded before changing the subject. "Hey, you up for a sparring session at my place after school? Midoriya's coming this time…and maybe Kirishima too, I still have to ask him. I think it'll be good to spar more people."

Ojiro grinned, "Totally. I need to get my win back from Midoriya after all."

"Shut up you idiots!" Bakugo growled from behind Allen. "It's bad enough that I have to stare at the back of your head all day, I don't want to have to hear the pointless chatter of a bunch of extras!"

Allen turned around and stared unblinkingly back into Bakugo's angry red eyes. "Just count yourself lucky that you didn't fight me in the tournament." He said, "I bet you wouldn't be able to hold onto that holier than thou attitude if I had put you in the ground where you belong."

Bakugo grinned, "In your dreams, loser. I put down Icy-Hot no problem while you got beat like a punk. You couldn't even make me break a sweat!"

"No problem?" Allen scoffed, "You only won because he was injured and slow thanks to me and Midoriya. Even then, you had dislocate your own shoulder! Also, isn't sweating the whole point of your quirk, stupid?"

"Who the fuck are you calling stupid? It was a figure of speech you retard! Ever heard of one?"

"I know what a figure of speech is." Allen fired back, "Your use of it was just fucking stupid! _Goddamn it Tsu-chan_!" Allen swore, wiping the miniscule amount of spit from his cheek from where he had just been tongue poked. "From across the room? Really?"

"Now kiss!" An unidentifiable voice called out from the back of the room, making the class laugh.

"Who the fuck just said that?" Allen and Bakugo yelled simultaneously.

Before their childish spat could escalate any further, the bell rang and Aizawa walked in, finally free of the bandages that he'd been buried under for the last couple of weeks. "Everybody pipe down. Morning class."

"Good morning sensei." Everybody dutifully repeated.

"Whoa Aizawa-sensei," Asui commented, "It's good to see you free of those bandages. Ribbit."

"Mmm," Aizawa acknowledged, picking at the new scar under his eye, "the old lady went overboard with her treatments. But that's not important right now. I have a couple of announcements." The class tensed. Aizawa was nearly impossible to read, so there was no way to tell what manner of news their teacher was about to deliver. "We're going to be doing hero internships." He explained, pulling a remote out of the folds of his capture weapon. "While our students normally don't receive these until their second or third year, for better or worse, the villain attack on the USJ has attracted a lot of eyes to your class in particular. Consider this an investment in your futures."

He pressed a button on the remote that brought up a chart on the board behind him. "This is why your performance in the Sports Festival was so important. Here is the list of offers that Pro agencies have submitted for the students…usually it's a lot more balanced than this, but this has been an unusual year."

"What the hell?" Allen exclaimed, staring at the extremely skewed results. "It's basically all for either Bakugo or Todoroki!"

"Yeah, and it's the opposite order of the final results."

"That's probably just because of my dad." Todoroki admitted with a hint of bitterness. "I doubt I would have gotten more even if I had won in the end."

"Fucking pathetic." Bakugo growled under his breath.

Ojiro shot Midoriya a sympathetic look, "I can't believe you didn't get any offers when I got one even after losing to you."

"I told you man," Mineta said, patting Midoriya on the back, "they got freaked out by the way you fought Todoroki."

"I guess." Midoriya chuckled weakly.

"Forget that," Ashido said in an outraged tone, "I made it to the top eight and didn't get any! What the hell?"

Allen stared at his name near the very bottom of the board. ' _I only got fifteen offers._ ' He had only edged out Sero by one offer despite finishing in the top four. He was disappointed, but not exactly surprised. Ingenium was a really beloved hero, and going psycho killer on his little brother didn't go over well with the public.

"Enough!" Aizawa barked, hitting the class with a quirk enhanced glare. The glowing red eyes shut them all up in a hurry. "Even for those of you who didn't receive offers, you will all still be doing internships. We will provide a list of agencies that have agreed to take on students. For that reason, we're picking your hero names today. I don't really care about stuff like that, so I'm bringing in someone who can advise you on them."

The class erupted in a cheer at the welcome news. This was something that they had been looking forward to since the beginning of the year. As if summoned by their cheers, Midnight sauntered in, sticking her chest out and swaying her hips in an exaggerated way. The girls of the class rolled their eyes while the boys drooled over the display.

Allen eyed the flesh-toned, skintight outfit of the pro hero. Though there was no way in hell that he would ever complain about the free eye-candy, part of him wondered whether it was entirely appropriate for an attractive female teacher to dress and act like that around a bunch of hormonal teenagers. It was no surprise that with only a few exceptions, all of the girls outperformed the boys in their Art History midterms with her as a teacher. Allen had absolutely bombed the exam himself—he had been too distracted to take a single note in Midnight's class the entire semester.

"I'm going to be helping you pick the code names that you will be using throughout your hero career." Midnight said, passing out whiteboards to the class.

Aizawa chimed in, "These names should be a reflection of yourself. When deciding on one, ask yourself what makes you stand out as a hero? What do you stand for? 'All Might' is a good example of this."

"If you can't think of anything right now, don't worry about it too much." Midnight added, "These aren't set in stone, but don't just jot down whatever comes to mind—these might end up being what you are called for the rest of your career. If it needs work, I'll let you know."

After grabbing his own, Allen passed the rest of the boards behind him and immediately scribbled down a name. ' _I bet almost everybody here has already put a lot of thought into what they want to be called._ ' He thought, ' _You don't get into a place like UA without spending years thinking about this kind of stuff. I bet Midoriya's already come up with a ton of names. It's nice to get a non-stressful assignment like this for once.'_

After setting down the whiteboard, he glanced over at Midoriya, who was sweating through his clothes and visibly agonizing over the decision. ' _What the fuck, he's totally stressing out! I guess I stand corrected.'_

"Alright," Midnight said after about ten minutes had passed, "who would like to show the class what they've come up with first?"

"Wait, we're presenting these?" Uraraka flushed, "That's a little embarrassing though."

Aoyama didn't hesitate and walked up to the front of the class. "Hmph, it's a little cruel of me to outshine everybody before they've had a chance to go, but here we are…" He held up his whiteboard. "The Shining Hero: [I Cannot Stop Twinkling]!" The name was written and spoken in English.

"It's a sentence!" Uraraka exclaimed. Allen buried his face into his elbow and was shaking so hard that his desk was vibrating from his effort to stop himself from exploding with laughter.

"Shut up." Bakugo muttered, kicking the back of Allen's seat. "You're distracting me, you moron."

"Bite me." Allen whispered back.

"Hmm," Midnight said, crossing out and editing parts of the name, "it's a little wordy, remove the 'I' and shorten the 'cannot' to 'can't' to make it easier to say."

"Oui, Mademoiselle." Aoyama gave Midnight a saucy wink.

"That was okay?" Sato asked, "Also, are you English or French? Pick one, damnit!"

"Who's next?" Midnight asked. Both Allen and Ashido rose to their feet at the same time.

"Me!/I'll go." They hesitated, awkwardly staring each other down for a few seconds in a nonverbal battle of wills.

Allen sighed. "Go ahead." he said, sitting back down, "It's not like I won't get my chance."

"Thanks!" Ashido chirped and bounced up to the front. She grinned widely and proudly displayed her whiteboard. "I'm going to be the Ridley Hero: Alien Queen!"

Midnight looked horrified, "Like that movie monster with the acidic blood? That's terrible! Redo it!"

"Whaaaaat?" Ashido whined.

"That one wasn't okay?" Someone commented, "I'm not understanding the standards here."

"I liked it." Allen defended the choice as he passed the sulking pink girl on his way up to the front, "I thought it was pretty cool." Ashido smiled at him in response.

"Hero names aren't just about sounding cool." Midnight lectured them; "You have to think about public perception, common associations—things like that matter, especially for rookie heroes. Hero names should make people feel reassured, not conjure images of horrifying monsters or sound like villain names."

"Then what about heroes like Death Arms?" Allen asked, "That's not a super heroic sounding name."

Midnight's eyebrow twitched, "Yes, and that's a reason why he's never broken the top one hundred in the popularity rankings, smartass. Now hurry up and show us your name!"

"Jeez," Allen said defensively, "I was just asking." He held up his whiteboard to the class and read it out loud, "The Steadfast Hero: Semper Fast."

"Sem..pa…Fasuto." Midnight stared at the sloppily written katakana and sounded it out syllable by syllable. "I know what 'fast' is in English, does the other part mean anything?"

"It's sort of a tribute to my family—my dad in particular." Allen explained, "It's a play on the U.S. Marine Corps motto, ' _Semper Fidelis'._ It's Latin for 'Always Faithful.'"

"Not bad." Midnight said, "It makes reference to your quirk while also having a deeper personal meaning at the same time. I'll give it a pass! Now who's next?"

"I'll go, ribbit." Asui said, walking up to the front. "I've had this name picked out since elementary school. The Rainy Season Hero: Froppy."

"Oh how wonderful!" Midnight praised, "It sounds approachable! Okay everyone, keep them coming!"

One by one the rest of the students made their way up to the front and presented their names. While some were pretty creative—Allen was a fan of Uraraka's "Uravity" and Shoji's "Tentacole" in particular, many were very on the nose—Allen made a mental note to needle Ojiro and Sato about the names 'Tailman" and "Sugarman" later. Mineta's "Grape Juice" made Allen laugh out loud, as did Bakugo's anger at being turned down for "King Explosion Murder", and "Lord Explosion Murder." Finally, Midoriya made his way up to the front. The class went silent when they saw the name that he had written down.

"Whoa, are you sure about that man?" Kirishima asked, "You really might end up getting stuck with that name forever you know."

Midoriya nodded. "Yeah, I am. I used to really hate this name, but I met someone who changed its meaning for me." He paused to glance over in Uraraka's direction and smiled, "That's the reason why I'm proud to bear this as my hero name!"

Allen stared at the word "Deku" scrawled messily on the whiteboard. ' _Damn Midoriya, you've really got it bad for her, don't you?'_

After a few more minutes of back and forth, the teachers wrapped the name session to a close. "Now that that's done," Aizawa grunted, picking up a stack of papers and giving it to the front rows to pass back, "here is a list of agencies that you can choose from. Those of you who got offers, come to me."

Allen couldn't help but smirk at the annoyed expression on Bakugo's face when Aizawa dumped what looked like an entire ream of paper on his desk containing the list of agencies that had submitted offers for him. Then he glanced at the single sheet of paper containing his offers. ' _Well, gotta take my solace wherever I can get it, I guess._ '

Scanning the paper, Allen's eyes widened at the first name displayed on the list. The Ingenium Hero Agency. ' _Okay,_ ' he thought, ' _I don't know what kind of offers I was expecting to get, but that was definitely not one of them.'_

"Hey Allen," Kirishima asked, peering over his shoulder, "what kind of offers did you get—whoa!" Kirishima snatched the paper from Allen's hands in his excitement.

"Dude," Allen said, "give that back."

"Yo Iida, check it out!" Kirishima called over to their serious classmate, "Your brother gave Allen an offer!"

"Really?" Iida didn't look away from his own list of offers, "That's interesting. I suggest you take the offer, Allen-kun, I'm sure you can learn a lot from my brother."

Allen nodded, "Yeah, I think so too. What was his ranking last time around? Number fifteen?"

"Twelve." Midoriya corrected absently from his seat, not looking up from his own list of potential internship offers.

"There you go." Allen said, "I bet play my cards right, I might get a job offer from him for when I graduate. That'd be a pretty sweet launching point for my own career. In fact…" Allen filled out the application sheet with Ingenium's information and slapped it on Aizawa's desk. "There we go, decision made." He walked over to Iida, "What about you, Iida-san? Did you get an offer from your brother too?"

"I did," Iida replied, "but I won't be accepting it. I want to get ahead on my own merits, not my brother's."

"I can respect that." Allen said.

"Besides," Iida continued, "it's not like I would be able to keep up with him for the first couple of days, anyways." He gestured towards his leg. "Even his most uneventful patrols are not something that can be done by an injured person."

"Oh." Allen lamely replied, not able to say anything else. "Right."

For the rest of the class, the students pondered and discussed which of the various hero agencies they would be applying to.

"I'm taking Mt. Lady!" Mineta exclaimed with a lecherous grin, "She's the best!"

"Are you thinking of something perverted again Mineta?" Asui asked him point blank.

"W-what?" Mineta stammered when he caught Allen giving him a very pointed stare. "O-of course not! I just want to learn! T-that's me! Totally committed to my education!"

"Oi, Grape." Allen said, leaning in close to the little pervert and looming over him threateningly.

"Y-y-yes?" Mineta asked, breaking out into a nervous sweat.

Allen furtively looked to make sure that Asui or any of the other girls weren't listening in. He lowered his voice to a whisper. "If you can get Mt. Lady to autograph my poster of her, I'll give you a 'get out of jail free card' for anything perverted, as long as it doesn't involve any touching…deal?"

The fear left Mineta's eyes at the offer. Allen had been rather cold to him since he had groped Asui during the USJ incident, but he never forgot the way they had bonded over their admiration of the female form at the beginning of the year. Recognizing that he was dealing with a fellow man of culture, Mineta's expression grew crafty and he shook his head. "Do you know how much signed merchandise goes for online right now? You provide cover for me one time and it's a deal."

"Fuck no!" Allen whispered harshly, "I still have a reputation to uphold! The most I'm willing to do is look the other way! I'll give you two free passes!"

"Five free passes." Mineta countered.

"Three free passes and I'll find a way to talk you up to the girls once. Final offer."

"Deal." Mineta agreed, "Bring me the merch tomorrow, I'll get your autograph."

"Looking forward to it."

(Later—after class)

"Martin." Aizawa grunted, catching Allen's attention as the rest of the students filed out of the classroom to go home for the day. "Don't leave. There's something that we need to discuss."

"Uh, Sensei, no offense, but is this going to take a while?" Allen asked, "I made plans with some of my classmates to spar at my house and they can't get onto the base without me."

"This won't take long." Aizawa assured him. "Five minutes, maybe ten."

"Okay," Allen turned to his friends, "sorry guys, can you wait at the station for me? I won't be far behind."

"Sure thing." Ojiro replied. Midoriya had been dragged off somewhere by All Might, so they'd have to text him the details. Kirishima grinned and gave a thumbs-up.

"See you there man!" The stragglers made their way out of the classroom.

"Okay," Allen asked, taking a seat on top of one of the desks at the front of the class, "what's this about? Planning out our future sessions or something? You said at the tournament that we're moving up to twice a week."

"Don't sit on the desk like that," Aizawa scolded, "either use it properly, or stand." Then he shook his head. "And not quite, but I'll email you the details of the updated schedule later today."

"Alright," Allen replied, "what is it then?"

Aizawa let out a sigh and pulled a remote out of the desk. He pushed a button, causing the panels in the wall containing their costumes to come sliding out. "Go get your costume and bring it over to me." When Allen did so, Aizawa opened the briefcase and removed the replica gun from the case with the closest approximation of an apologetic look that Allen had ever seen from the enigmatic teacher.

Allen bristled when he realized what was happening. "Wait, what the fuck is this?" He protested, "You're taking the gun?"

"Yes." Aizawa replied bluntly, but not unsympathetically. "I believe I mentioned that there would be consequences for your incident with Iida during the tournament. This is one of them."

"This is _bullshit!_ " Allen protested, slamming his palms on the desktop, but keeping his volume just under a shout. "Do you have any idea how much practice I've been putting in at the range? I've already logged twenty of my one hundred required hours! Are you telling me that all of that time has been for nothing?"

Aizawa shook his head. "I have shielded you the best I can, but this is one thing that I happen to agree with. You completely lost control in a controlled match with a classmate, a friend, and badly injured him, ignoring multiple calls to stop. Can you look me in the eye and honestly tell me that if you got angry like that again in the field, you would be able to make an objective decision as to whether it was necessary to use lethal force if you had a gun in your hands?"

Allen grit his teeth and looked down at the desk he was sitting in, trying his best to glare a hole through the wood. As much as he wanted to reflexively deny it, Allen knew the answer to that question was 'no', and so did Aizawa. He couldn't say anything and so he simply sat there quietly.

Taking his silence as an answer, Aizawa locked the replica gun in his desk and walked over to Allen. After hesitating for a second, the pro rested a hand on Allen's shoulder, making the silent teen tense up before looking up into his teacher's eyes. "I am sorry it has come to this," Aizawa said, "but I want you to know how proud I am that you didn't try to lie to me to get your weapon back. It reassures me that my choice to support you was the correct one."

"I guess." Allen relaxed, smiling faintly at the praise despite his foul mood. It was rare that Aizawa openly praised anyone, so when it happened, you could be sure that it was genuine.

Allen opened his mouth, and then immediately closed it, thinking hard about what he was going to say next. "So…I take it the gun is off the table for good?" Allen looked to Aizawa for confirmation and got a nod. "Well…shit. What do I do now?" He asked, "Without the gun, I'm basically back to square one, and I still need a solution for my long range problem. My fight with Todoroki made that really clear."

"That's something for you to figure out on your own." Aizawa replied, "But I can certainly help point you in the right direction. Your internship starts tomorrow, but after the week is over, I recommend that you go to the Support Course and workshop something with them."

"The Support Course, huh?" Allen said with a look of distaste on his face. "Is that Hatsume girl going to be there? Because if she is, I'm not sure I want anything to do with them. She made me look like a complete joke in the tournament."

Aizawa grunted and hid a smirk under the capture cloth at the reminder of that match. "It didn't look to me like she made you do anything. From where I was sitting, it looked like you chose to play along with her."

"It wasn't that simple!" Allen snapped, "Somebody talked me into promising to help her out. I was bound by my word and she totally took advantage of that!"

"Somebody talked you into it?" Aizawa echoed, "I thought that you playing along with Hatsume-san's game seemed out of character for you. Regardless, considering the physical state you were in, it was a good tactical decision. Was that Midoriya's idea?" Aizawa narrowed his eyes and stared intently at Allen for several seconds making him squirm a bit. "Not Midoriya? It had to be Asui then. She did always strike me as someone with a good head on her shoulders. Just out of curiosity, how did she convince you to go along with it?"

Allen hesitated, but didn't see any reason to withhold the information from the man. He was in charge of his therapy after all—he could trust Aizawa. "She told me that there was no better way to hurt her than putting myself back in the hospital because I let my pride get in the way of what was best for me. That even if I didn't want to do it for myself, I should do it for her, and everyone else who cares about me." Allen flushed red, "She…uh…said some other stuff too." He didn't care to repeat that part.

Aizawa raised an eyebrow at the last part, filing it away for later before glancing at the clock on the wall. "Let's not keep your friends waiting. We'll continue this chat later. Check your email for the details regarding your new therapy schedule. I have work to do, and you have a big week ahead of you. Go home, get some rest and I'll see you at the train station tomorrow morning."

Allen nodded. "Yes sir. See you tomorrow then."

 **AN: The Internship Arc is about to begin! Hope that you all are doing well. I was pretty thrilled to see that one of my favorite fics, Viridescent by darkfire1220 was updated not too long ago. If you haven't read it yet, definitely check it out, because it's awesome. Like always, leave a review to let me know what you think or if I made any mistakes! I'm also looking for a beta if anyone is interested. Until next time, Plus Ultra!**


	23. The Turbo Hero

Semper Fast Chapter 23

The Turbo Hero

Allen's journey through the posh, upscale Tokyo ward on the way to his internship was eye opening in certain ways. At the sight of the towering building that housed the Ingenium Hero Agency, his jaw dropped—it looked more like the headquarters of a Fortune 500 company than what was essentially a government worker's office.

Allen didn't consider himself poor—sure, his family had never been flush with cash, and they'd had lean months from time to time, but they got by just fine. Still, stepping onto the polished granite floors of the agency felt like stepping into a different world.

' _Holy shit_.' Allen looked around in awe at his lavish surroundings. Hanging around with Midoriya, you couldn't help but have some of his idealism rub off on you, but Allen could definitely appreciate Uraraka's motivation to be a hero a little more now. ' _Is this_ _the kind of money that the top pros pull in? I've got to get me some of this action!'_

"Excuse me!"

' _Now, I just need to figure out where to go.'_ Allen took out his phone and pulled up the email containing the relevant information for his internship. ' _Damn it…it gives the address, and the time, but no other details but that.'_

"Excuse me!"

Allen scratched his head, ' _I guess I should just ask someone for help.'_

"Young man!"

"Hmm?" Allen looked up from his phone and saw an attractive woman in her mid-thirties sitting at the front desk, waving him over. "Ah," he said quietly to himself as he walked over to her, "that'll do."

"Welcome to the Iida Building!" The woman greeted Allen with a smile. "You seem to be looking for something. How can I help you, young man?"

"Uh, yeah, actually…" Allen took a folded up piece of paper and his school ID out of his pocket and set it on the counter. "I'm Allen Martin, I'm here for my internship with Ingenium."

At the sound of Allen's name, the woman's eyes widened in recognition and her warm smile faltered. "I see. One moment please." The woman's previously pleasant expression took on a cold, hard quality as she typed some information into her computer.

Allen blinked at the abrupt shift in tone. ' _What the hell is that all about?_ '

"I'm sorry, sir." the woman told him in a curt tone, "I'm afraid I don't see you on the list of expected visitors today."

"What do you mean I'm not on the list?" Allen asked, tapping the paper on the counter, "This is your agency's stationary, isn't it? There's no way that UA would make this kind of mistake."

The woman shook her head, "I don't know what to tell you," she replied, "perhaps you are the victim of some sort of prank. Either way, I have no record of you in the system. I apologize if this seems abrupt, but we are very busy, and if you have no business here I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to leave."

Confused, Allen stared at the woman for a few seconds. When he saw the triumphant look in her eyes and the smug grin tugging at her lips, realization set in and anger stirred in his chest like a sleeping dragon.

' _Oh…'_ he seethed, ' _I see how it is._ ' He leaned in, planting his hands on the counter and he glared into the woman's eyes, making her recoil from his sudden aggressive proximity.

"Lady," he said in a low, angry voice, "you must think that I'm either a total pushover, or a total idiot." The woman's eyes widened at being called out so bluntly. "To be honest, I'm not sure which is more insulting, but I'll tell you this: you picked the wrong guy to fuck with."

Her shock giving way to indignation, the woman stood up, her face flushed and nostrils flaring, "Right now I'm feeling generous, so I'll let your threatening demeanor slide, but I will not ask you again. Either you immediately leave this building of your own free will, or I'll call security and have you removed. You have ten seconds to decide."

"How about no?" Allen replied. He pulled out his phone and scrolled through his contacts before typing a quick message and sending it. He stared the woman down. "I'm feeling generous," he mocked, "so I'll let your rudeness slide, but I'm not going to ask you again. Either you do your damn job, tell me what I need to know and send me on my merry way, or I call this number and we'll see what happens from there."

The woman scoffed and picked up the phone on her desk. "That's it. I'm calling security." She pressed a button on the receiver. "Can we get security down here? We've got a trespasser who is refusing to leave." She turned to Allen; "You've got about one minute to get out of here before you're thrown out of here."

"Fine." Allen said, "Just remember, you did this to yourself." He hit the dial button and held the phone to his ear; the other line rang twice, before it was answered. "Hey man, I need a favor."

" _I got your text, Allen-kun."_ Iidasounded annoyed. " _You said that this was an emergency, but you do not sound very distressed. You do realize that I'm in the middle of my internship right now? Everybody is waiting on me right now."_

"Yes, I realize that you're at your internship right now, and I'm sorry for the inconvenience, but I've got a situation here and only you can help me."

" _And it can not wait until later? There is no one else who can assist you at the moment?"_

"No," Allen said gravely, "it has to be you, Iida-sa—no, _Class Rep_. No one else will do." Allen grinned when heard Iida inhale sharply on the other end of the line. He could practically see Iida swell with pride at Allen's use of his title.

" _Of course,"_ Iida replied, " _as your representative, it is my duty to assist my classmates in whatever way possible! What seems to be the problem?"_

Allen glanced at the secretary making his life difficult and had to smother a grin. When she heard Allen drop Iida's name, her face went white. "Your brother's front desk lady is about to get me thrown out of the building, saying that I don't actually have an internship here."

" _She what?"_ Iida's voice sounded furious. " _On behalf of the Iida family, I wholeheartedly apologize for her rudeness. I will certainly discuss this with my brother later, but for now, put her on the phone with me, I'll sort this out."_

Allen smirked and handed his phone over to the woman. "It's for you."

The woman took Allen's phone with a trembling hand and hesitantly raised the device to her ear. "Hello? T-Tenya-kun, it's been a while, how are you…" she shook her head, "no, _no,_ I was just…you don't understand, I was simply trying to…" She went silent for nearly thirty seconds. "Yes, yes, I understand."

Allen stood there silently, watching with crossed arms as the woman cringed and bowed over and over again while Iida chewed her out over the phone. He wasn't smiling anymore; the initial vindictive satisfaction he had gotten from the situation had already faded. He didn't exactly feel bad for the woman, but he could tell that from her reactions that she wasn't simply acting out of pettiness. She obviously knew and cared about Iida on some personal level, and this attempt to hurt Allen was just the small bit of vengeance she could extract.

"I'm terribly sorry about my rudeness, sir." She apologized through grit teeth, handing the phone back to Allen. "Ingenium is waiting for you on the top floor, you can get there by taking the elevator down the hall and to the right."

Allen opened his mouth to say something but stopped when he heard two sets of footsteps approaching behind him. He turned to see two of Ingenium's sidekicks warily approaching him.

"Is there a problem here?" One of them asked, signaling the other guard to approach Allen from the other side. "What's going on?"

The woman waved them off. "Sorry to call you down here for no reason," she said, "it was a…misunderstanding on my end, but it's all sorted out now."

"Okay," the sidekick replied with a shrug, "as long as everything's fine, we'll get back to our post now."

After the two walked away, Allen turned back to the woman. "Look," he said, "I'm pretty sure I know why you just did what you did. You know Iida Tenya-san, right? Not just in passing either."

The woman nodded. Her gaze was still cold, but she spoke to Allen regardless. "I've been working here for nearly ten years now. He's come in nearly every week since I began…I've played with him, helped him with his homework and watched him grow up."

Allen sighed. "I'm sorry about how our match at the Sports Festival went. You have no idea how sorry I am. I wouldn't exactly call us close, but Iida-san is a classmate and someone I respect a lot. I didn't want to hurt him like that." Allen dropped his gaze to the floor. "I just…when he burned me with his quirk, I lost control. I'm working on that, but I hope we can move past—"

"I don't forgive you." She interrupted.

"Eh?" Allen looked back up at the blunt declaration. "But…"

"You broke his knee." She cut him off frostily. "You used your quirk to hit him so many times after the match had been called that experts had to slow down the footage just to count the blows. The fact that you didn't do any permanent damage is a small miracle. Then you have the _audacity_ to put on that farce in your next match, acting like the whole thing was a joke! I don't know what Ingenium was thinking by inviting you here, but don't you dare think that you can fix this with a simple apology."

Allen shook his head, "That's not what I'm doing! I'm just—"

"I don't care. Just get out of my sight."

Allen shut up and did as she asked, heading towards the elevator. This reaction wasn't entirely unexpected. He'd been getting similar grief for the last couple of days from random people over the Internet, so he had figured that the employees of Iida's brother wouldn't have the best opinion of him. ' _Still,'_ he thought as he stepped onto the elevator and pressed the button to take him to the top floor, _'it would have been nice to not get this from the very first person that I saw.'_

When the elevator arrived at its destination, the first thing that Allen saw was Iida Tensei seated in a comfortable looking chair behind a large, expensive looking desk. Other than his helmet, which had been placed on the desk, he was fully decked out in his iconic armor. With his mussed up hair and bags under his eyes, he presented a very different image than the immaculately groomed man that Allen had met at the Sports Festival. In addition to his disheveled appearance, he also had the slightly manic air of someone who was running almost entirely on caffeine. Allen wondered how much Tensei had slept since he had seen him last, if at all.

"Ah, Martin-kun!" Tensei greeted Allen. He stood up and walked around the desk to give his new intern a handshake. "Good, you're here! I trust you didn't have any trouble finding the place?"

"…Nothing worth mentioning." Allen replied after a moment.

"Good, good!" Tensei rubbed his hands together. "Let's get started! Follow me and I'll give you the tour."

The two walked to the elevator and stepped on. "We'll start on floor 25 and work our way up from there until we're back in my office. After that, we'll go over my plans for you this week. Any questions?"

"Just one. Why are we starting on floor 25?" Allen asked, "Isn't this whole building your agency?"

Tensei grinned and rubbed the back of his head, "Not exactly. It's true that the whole building is mine—or more accurately, my family's—but only the top five floors are dedicated to my agency. The rest of the space is rented out to various support companies or other agencies. It's a pretty convenient arrangement." The elevator let out a ding and the door opened to reveal a typical office scene with personalized cubicles and employees working diligently in professional attire.

Allen couldn't help but comment on this as they walked through the aisles of the workplace. "Not that I'm an expert on the subject," he said, "But this isn't exactly what I expected a hero agency to look like."

"There's a good reason for that," Tensei explained after taking a moment to greet an employee who passed them, "floors 25 and 26 make up the business end of the agency. A lot of people mistakenly think that it's the government salary that's made the top heroes some of the wealthiest people in the country—the pay is definitely good, don't get me wrong—but it's the efforts of the men and women in here that keep this entire operation financially above water."

"Huh…good to know." Allen remarked. "So, what do they _do_ here, exactly?"

"I don't keep total track of everything they do, but from what I understand, they deal with any licensing agreements using my image and such, as well as managing press releases, television and live appearances. They make sure that the public has a good perception of what we are doing and use that perception to pull in more money." Tensei looked left and right to make sure nobody was listening. "Honestly," he muttered, "I find the whole thing kind of embarrassing—I wanted to help people, not be a celebrity—but it really is a necessary part of the job."

"Why?" Allen asked, "There are tons of heroes who don't do side gigs and just focus on their work—Aizawa-sensei, I mean Eraserhead, is one—not counting his teaching—couldn't you do that if you don't like the whole celebrity aspect of the whole thing?"

"I have over sixty sidekicks working for me full time. If I include the business and legal side, as well as the building staff, I employ over a hundred people." Tensei explained, "I like to pay my people well, and I cover their life, health, and dental insurance. You can't forget Heroic Liability insurance, and there's also the cost of buying and maintaining the support equipment…" Tensei glanced at Allen and saw his eyes glazed over from all of the information just thrown at him and let out a little cough. "Anyways, the income from renting out the bottom 25 floors of the building helps, but running this place takes a _lot_ of money."

They stopped right outside of a door. "Here we are." Tensei led Allen into a medium sized office where a beleaguered looking middle-aged man was sorting through a massive pile of paperwork on his desk.

The man looked up from his work, "Ah, Tensei-kun," he said, "what brings you here?" He shifted his gaze to Allen. "And who is this?"

"Yamaguchi-san, this Allen Martin, my intern for the week from UA. I'm just giving him the tour." Tensei explained, "Martin-kun, this is Yamaguchi Eichiro. He was the head of the marketing and PR department during my father's time, and now he's our CEO, for lack of a better title. Without him and his business acumen, nothing you see here would have been possible."

Yamaguchi snorted, "You give this old man too much credit, and yourself too little Tensei-kun." He narrowed his eyes at Allen. "So you're that Martin kid, huh? You look familiar. You the one who broke Tenya-kun's leg?"

"Uh…" Allen said, feeling uncomfortable under the elder man's heavy gaze. "I…"

"Come now Yamaguchi-san," Tensei lightly scolded the man, "Martin-kun has already made up with Tenya. Let's not focus on the past here."

"If you say so," Yamaguchi brusquely replied before going back to his work, "just try not to let that American make any messes that I'm going to have to clean up later. I'm already up to my ears in problems with the whole Native thing."

At the mention of his dead colleague, intense anger flashed in Tensei's eyes for a brief moment before disappearing just as quickly. "Right. Come, Martin-kun, let's get out of Yamaguchi-san's hair. Back to the elevator."

"Okay," Allen asked after the two had gotten back into the lift. "what's next?"

"Floor 27. I get the feeling that you're really going to like what's on this floor." Tensei replied. "This is also where you'll be staying for the week." When the doors opened, he led Allen down a corridor to a room filled with bunk beds. "Sometimes we get overloaded with cases here and have to pull all-nighters, so I set this room up for people to get a few hours of shuteye when they need it. I hope you're a heavy sleeper, because people will be coming in and out a lot."

Allen inhaled through his teeth, making a slight hissing sound. "Yeah…I actually am really light sleeper…have been since I was a kid. Do you have any earplugs or something that I can use?"

Tensei frowned. "I don't believe so…but no worries, I'll send one of my assistants out to go get some. That's probably a good idea to have them for anyone else sleeping in there anyways."

"Thanks."

"Don't mention it," Tensei replied. He turned and led Allen around another corner and through a door."

"Oooh!" Allen exclaimed, "This is awesome!"

The majority of the 27th floor was a spotlessly clean, state of the art gym with and enormous variety of machines and equipment. "Is that an infinity pool?" His eyes widened when he saw a familiar eight-sided cage in the back of the room. "Is that an _octagon_?" He turned to Tensei with stars in his eyes. "You have an octagon!"

Tensei smiled proudly. "Yes, we have an octagon. Fair warning, you might grow to hate it over the next couple of days—I've got a lot of sidekicks itching to get into the ring with you."

"Ha!" Allen laughed, "Bring 'em on! I've been wanting to try my hand against a pro!" A thought came to Allen and he cleared his throat. "You don't happen to have any sidekicks with fire quirks, do you?"

Tensei gave Allen a curious glance. "No, we don't…and we don't allow quirk use in the cage anyways, that's purely for training hand-to-hand. Why do you ask?"

Allen suddenly found the floor very interesting. "I'm…uh…not the biggest fan of fire."

Tensei raised an eyebrow. "We all have our fears, I suppose, but you'll definitely need to work on this one. There are a lot of villains with fire quirks out there."

"Yeah," Allen replied, "I know." He looked around again appreciatively and let out a wistful sigh. "But man, I almost don't want to continue the tour so we can stay here. This place must have cost a fortune!"

Tensei nodded. "Very much so. I'm typically not a big spender, but this gym is my baby. I had to really fight Yamaguchi-san to approve purchasing some of this equipment, but I thought it was worth splurging."

"Definitely." Allen agreed, following Tensei though another set of doors and into a typical locker room. Allen noticed that it was noticeably warmer and more humid in there than in the gym.

"This is our men's changing room." Tensei said, pointing everything out. "You'll store your things here. To the right are the toilets, sinks and showers. We've got body soap, shampoo and conditioner dispensers if you need it. The sauna and steam room are to the left."

Allen grinned. "Wow, you only have a sauna and steam room? I'm surprised that you didn't add the indoor onsen as well."

Tensei smiled blandly. "Well, I wanted one, but Yamaguchi-san put his foot down on that… 'A frivolous luxury', I believe he called it."

Allen snorted with laughter. "Of course you did."

"While we are here, go ahead and get changed into your gear. Your locker is number 94, just make your own combination and put your stuff in there, I'll be waiting outside."

"Got it."

It took around ten minutes for Allen to finish changing, stash his school uniform, and leave the locker room. It didn't help that he spent nearly a minute staring into the mirror at his face after he removed the make-up covering his scars, and another minute doing breathing exercises in order to calm down.

' _Keep it together, Allen.'_ He told himself. ' _This is the path you chose.'_

When he walked out of the locker room, he found Tensei leaning against the wall, quietly sipping on an orange flavored energy drink. When he saw the angry red scars on Allen's face, Tensei choked a little bit.

"W-what are those?" Tensei exclaimed, horrified. "Tattoos?"

"No." Allen replied shortly, "they aren't tattoos." He clenched his fists. "He called them a _gift_ …but I like to think of them as a lesson."

Tensei cringed and shook his head. "Of course, I don't know what I was thinking, _of course_ they aren't tattoos, you're underage after all…wait, 'he'? Who is 'he'?"

"I'd really rather not talk about it." Allen said, "I already have mandated therapy for it, and really, the whole topic just pisses me off."

"That's understandable." Tensei agreed. "I'd rather ask about that costume of yours anyways. The whole soldier look is an interesting choice. You know that the American military doesn't exactly have the best reputation here in Japan, right?"

"Yeah." Allen replied, "I've heard my dad ranting about it on occasion. He _really_ hates it when his fellow Marines tarnish the reputation of the Corps. I mostly picked this outfit as an homage to my dad, but I was also hoping that I could help change the public perception of our military as a hero." Allen let out a bitter laugh, "I'm obviously doing a _great_ job so far."

"I wouldn't worry about it too much, you haven't even finished your first semester of the hero program. You'll get your chance to turn things around." Tensei walked up to Allen and rapped his knuckles on his vest, producing a solid sound. "Body armor huh? I know that it might be hypocritical for me to be saying this, but that's a pretty interesting choice for a speedster like yourself. What's the material? Kevlar?"

"Dunno." Allen replied, "I think it's got some kind of ceramic polymer…whatever. All I know is that it'll stop anything short of a high-powered rifle in its tracks." He shuddered, as he remembered taking a hit from Ashikuro's smoky tendrils. "It's not as good against blunt force though."

"And it's not too heavy?" Tensei asked as he walked Allen back to the elevator. "I had to have my suit made out of plastic in order for it to be light enough to be unencumbered. It's pretty strong plastic, mind you, but plastic all the same."

"Nah," Allen answered, "it's actually fairly light for the protection it gives, and I'm pretty strong. My biggest problem is that it doesn't breathe worth shit, so after a while I get really hot." He shrugged. "I guess if something is designed to stop bullets, it'll also stop air."

Tensei laughed and tapped his own armor. "I know what you mean. If I don't get this suit cleaned every couple of days, it reeks from all of the built up sweat." He tapped the next button on the elevator and got them moving.

"So, what's next?"

"Next up are floors 28 and 29, they're the most important part of my whole operation, think of it as the "nerve center" of the agency. This is where all of the hero work that isn't on the streets gets done."

Allen wasn't prepared for the sight that was waiting for him when the elevators opened. Unlike the previous areas that he'd seen, the two floors making up Ingenium's "nerve center" were combined into a single high-ceilinged room built around a central viewing screen that displayed the feeds from all of the CC street cameras within ten kilometers. In the remaining space were open air desks, each with computers, and built into the walls were storage units that contained a wide variety of support equipment for the large number of sidekicks working there.

"Woah." Allen breathed, "This is…"

Tensei grinned, "Pretty cool, right? If you take nothing else from this internship, remember this: information is far more powerful a tool than any single quirk. With this system in place, we can spot any crime in progress and respond to it before anyone even has the chance to report it."

"Yo Tensei!" A dark-haired man about Tensei's age walked up to them. He was casually dressed, wearing jeans and a T-shirt, as well as two dozen smartwatches that covered both of his arms up to the elbow. "Got something to report."

Tensei dropped his easygoing smile and turned to the man, all business. "Good work. What have you got for me, Omou?"

"Nothing conclusive, but we caught wind of a sighting of that murdering bastard on social media. He was last seen in an alleyway at the intersection of 54th and 30th."

"And we're sure it's genuine this time?"

"Not one hundred percent, but I think so. This particular post had descriptions that haven't been released to the public yet and…" The man, Omou, trailed off and eyed Allen speculatively. "This _that_ kid?" He looked Tensei back in the eyes, "You sure that you want him for this? He's—"

" _Omou_." Tensei said sharply. "I thought I made myself clear on this subject earlier. Now, tell me about the sighting. Is it something we can act on?"

Allen glared at Omou and clenched his fists. ' _This shit again…I get it, I fucked up. Does every fucking person I meet here have to give me shit about it?'_

Omou shook his head. "No, I don't think so. I sent a report to the patrolling heroes in the area when we found the post, but this was over thirty minutes ago and they haven't reported any unusual activity. He's long gone by now."

"Damn it!" Tensei cursed. "At least tell me we've learned _something_ from this!"

"Nothing specific, sorry." Omou told Tensei. "But every bit of data concerning his movements helps. We're going to get him, I can assure you of that."

Tensei took a deep breath, and relaxed. "Yes, of course we are…Martin-kun." He said, "Sorry to not introduce you sooner, but this here is Fukusu Omou. He's our intelligence coordinator. He's responsible for the effective management of our data relating to criminal activity and crime, and ensures that the information is received and processed accurately and appropriately to support our patrols and investigations."

"Um…" Allen said.

"I'm their eye in the sky, kid." Omou translated for Allen. "I watch the screens and tell the patrols if anything shady is going down."

"By yourself?" Allen asked. "Isn't that too much information at once?"

Omou smirked, "Maybe for someone else, but my quirk, 'Multitask', allows me to interpret and comprehend anything in my line of sight simultaneously." Seeing Allen's blank look, Omou simplified. "I can watch and read a bunch of things at the same time."

"Oh."Allen blinked. " _Oh!_ " He let out a whistle. " _Damn_ that's a useful quirk. Not very flashy, but useful as hell." Allen gave Omou a puzzled look, "No offense, but why are you here? Someone with a quirk like yours could write your own ticket in the business world…or academia…or…fuck, _anything_ that isn't fighting villains."

Omou snickered at this. "I wonder."

Allen blinked. "What?" He looked at Tensei. "What's so funny?"

Tensei coughed. "Omou here is actually one of the wealthiest men in Japan. He made over a billion yen in the stock market before he was twenty. He only works here because we're childhood friends and because he gets bored easily."

Omou shrugged, "It's not easy being the most efficient man in the world. By the way, Tensei, it's a dead hour, so I'm gonna take a trip to the convenience store for some grub. I didn't get breakfast this morning and I'm starving."

"Right." Tensei said dryly. "Make sure you let our patrols know."

Omou waved his hand dismissively as he walked off. "Yeah, yeah." He said, "Roger that, Boss Man."

"What's a 'dead hour'?" Allen asked Tensei.

"It's an industry term." Tensei explained, "Villain activities have statistical peaks and valleys at certain times of the day, and on certain days of the week. Right now, since it's a Tuesday morning after rush hour, the statistical likelihood of a villain attack happening now is very low."

"Oh," Allen said. "That makes sense, I guess."

"Since Omou left, let's head back up to my office. I have something very important to discuss with you about my plans for this week. I'll also answer any other questions that you have."

"Sounds good to me."

The atmosphere surrounding Allen and Tensei changed the very moment that the elevator doors shut behind and the two entered the office. Tensei walked around his large desk and took a seat in his chair.

"Take a seat, Martin-kun." Tensei told him, indicating one of the comfortable looking chairs parked in front of the desk. He folded his hands on the desk. "I'm afraid that I have a confession to make."

"Okay…" Allen replied as he sank into the comfortable chair. "What's that?"

Tensei's expression was dead serious. "I am the reason that you received so few offers for internships."

Allen's eyes widened. He sat there silently for a moment, processing this information. Part of him felt angry, but mostly, he was just confused. "I don't understand."

"I made a few phone calls, sent a few emails. The rest was word of mouth. All I had to do was suggest that people should look elsewhere for interns, and well, the results speak for themselves."

"I get _how_ you did it!" Allen snapped. He shut his mouth and took a moment to get a grip on his composure. "What I want to know is _why?_ If this were just about your brother, I would understand, but why would you go to the all of the trouble of sabotaging me and then nominate me yourself?"

"To tell you the truth, I almost didn't nominate you." Tensei said mildly, "I'm not proud of it, but I began the blackballing process within ten minutes of your match with Tenya. Even though Tenya asked me not to hold his injuries against you due to your circumstances, I was furious, and frankly, I just couldn't find it in me to do that."

"But…you told me that it was water under the bridge when we first met."

"That was a lie." Tensei leaned forward and glared at Allen. "Tenya is my little brother, Martin-kun. He's my _family_. _Nobody_ hurts my family and gets away with it. At that moment, if it were up to me, you would have been kicked out of UA then and there."

Allen stared at the floor. "I don't know how many times I have to say I'm sorry before someone believes me, but _I'm sorry_. I didn't want to hurt your brother like that. I'd do _anything_ to take it back or make up for it."

"I do believe that you're sorry." Tensei said as he leaned back in his chair. "And I'd like to give you a chance to make up for it."

At those words, Allen looked back up. "What do you mean?"

"The reason that I nominated you is because there's something that you can do for me that will make up for hurting my little brother. If you do this, I'll not only consider the matter closed, I will personally write you a letter of recommendation to any hero agency you wish to work at when you graduate. I'll even give you a job here, if that's what you want. If not…" Tensei trailed off.

"If not," Allen finished for him, "I can basically kiss working as a pro in Japan goodbye."

Tensei's silence spoke volumes.

Allen shook his head and squeezed the armrests of his chair until his knuckles popped. "Becoming a hero has been my dream since I was eight years old…I've already gone through so much in pursuit of that…I'll do whatever you want. Just name it."

Without a word, Tensei picked up a manila envelope and slid it across the desk to Allen. Opening it, Allen saw a blurry photo of a masked man armed to the teeth with blades and wearing a blood red scarf, ducking into an alley.

"This is…" Allen looked up at Tensei, shocked at what the pro was implying, "You _can't_ be serious. You want _me_ to help you bring down the goddamned _Hero Killer?_ "

Tensei nodded. "I am serious, and I do need your help. As elusive as he is, he has rigidly stuck to an established pattern of three or four attacks in a given area before moving on. Thanks to Omou, we have a general idea of where he'll strike in the next few days. Most importantly, based on the information I've gathered from my interviews of the who survived their encounters with him, I believe I know how he chooses his victims as well."

Allen had a very, very bad feeling about this. He was good at fighting, but the list of heroes that Stain had killed or permanently injured was not a small one. Many of the pros he killed had been highly lauded for their powerful quirks and their skill. Allen had been a _fan_ of some of the slain heroes. He'd be lying if he said that the thought of facing the notorious killer didn't terrify him.

' _But fuck, I can't back out now.'_

Allen took a deep, shuddering breath. "Okay…I'll help. What's my part in this whole thing?"

"It's a very simple, but very important role." Tensei smiled humorlessly. "You're going to be the bait."

 **AN: It's been a while, but I promise, I haven't been doing nothing! For those of you this far into the story, rewrites up to chapter 5 have been completed, and I'm planning on continuing the rewrite process as we move further along.**

 **For those of you worried about keeping track of the new OCs, don't be. They won't be here long.**

 **Next chapter, Tensei will reveal his reasoning for making Allen his Stain bait, and the sidekicks decide to have a little welcoming party for Allen. Virtual props to anyone who can guess beforehand.**

 **Anyways, as always, please leave a review to let me know what you think. Until next time, Plus Ultra.**


	24. No Pain, No Gain

Semper Fast Chapter 24

No Pain, No Gain

Unable to believe what he had just heard, Allen stared uncomprehendingly at Tensei for a good five seconds. Thinking that it must have been some kind of joke, he forced out a laugh, "I'm sorry, I must have misheard you… _what_?"

"You're going to be the bait." Tensei repeated. He then snapped his fingers and held out his hand, "Ah, I should probably clarify—you won't be doing any fighting. You're a talented kid, but you don't have a license to use your quirk, plus, there's no way I'm putting someone your age in any more danger than I absolutely have to. Several members of my team and I will be following you at a distance. If and when he comes for you, I assure you that we will be on him in seconds and take it from there."

' _Oh, that makes way more sense.'_

"For fucks sake." Allen dropped his head into his hands. "Would it kill you to say that _first_?"

Tensei rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, "Sorry about that. It's all the caffeine—my thoughts are jumbled out of order right now."

"Obviously." Allen let out a relieved breath. "For a second there I thought that you were some kind of horrible bastard who was going to send me out to die!"

"Ouch." Tensei replied with a pained expression. He let out a sigh and ran his hand through his hair. "But I suppose I deserve that for strong-arming you like this. Believe me, if I had any other choice, I wouldn't be taking advantage, but I don't have the time to do this properly."

Just then, something about Tensei's word choice intrigued Allen. "'If you had any other choice'?" He echoed Tensei, "'Take advantage?'" When the older man's eye twitched, Allen saw something in Tensei's face that sent a sudden realization through him like a thunderbolt. "This…this isn't about what happened with your brother at all, is it? It never has been."

For just an instant, Tensei averted his eyes with a guilty expression before schooling his face back into a neutral expression. Allen had always been something of a natural when it came to reading people. His father joked that Allen what lacked in book smarts, he made up for with his people skills, often saying "If all else fails, he'll be an absolute terror at the poker table."

Carefully watching Tensei's face, Allen continued throwing out guesses and seeing if they stuck. "The blacklisting, the nomination…you didn't do this because you wanted to punish me…it's because you need me, _specifically_ , for this, don't you, Iida-san?"

Tensei frowned, "I suppose there's no point in keeping you in the dark any longer. I must say I'm impressed, Tenya has told me about you, but he never mentioned how sharp you are."  
Allen shook his head. "It's only for stuff like this…reading people, empathizing with them, guessing what they're thinking…the only person who I really can't read that well is my girlfriend, funnily enough." Allen slapped his hand on the desk. "But that's not important, what is this really about? Why _me_? Why go to all of this trouble to force me here and back me into a corner where I have no choice but to accept this deal of yours? If you'd just asked me normally, I probably would have done it anyways."

"Probably wasn't… _isn't_ good enough." Tensei said. "That piece of trash…the Hero Killer…he murdered one of my colleagues in cold blood, in _my city._ Native was _good man_. He was _my friend_ , and he was cut down like a dog in some dingy alley and left to drown in his own blood."

Allen felt a chill run down his spine at the cold fury in Tensei's eyes. It was not the type of anger that faded with the moment, but the kind that festered and festered until it was cut out at the source. It was a familiar sight to Allen—he saw it in his own eyes whenever he looked at the scars on his face and thought of the man who gave them to him.

Tensei shook his head. "You're right, I _do_ need you, because I can't think of any more likely way to draw him out, and I'm running out of time. If he holds to the same pattern as the places he's been before, he'll either kill or maim another three or four heroes before moving on. I can't allow that, even if I have to do despicable things to prevent it."

"I can understand where you're coming from." Allen said. He tapped his cheek, "I've only told my advisor and my Dad about this, but the guy who gave me these…right before Ryukyu saved me, he told me that he was going to hurt my mom." Allen stared at his lap and clenched his fists tightly enough that it hurt. "Honestly…once he was taken down, if Ryukyu hadn't been there, I think I might have killed him, just to make sure that he never had the chance." Allen looked up at Tensei. "But what I don't understand is why you think the Hero Killer would have any interest in me…I'm not even a hero yet."

"I think," Tensei said as he reached into the drawer of his desk and pulled out a tablet and remote, "that it will be easier if I show you." With a click of the remote, he lowered a screen on the wall and connected the tablet to it. From there, he went to YouTube and pulled up a video that Allen was unfortunately familiar with—his second match of the tournament, against Mei. "You might not be aware of this, but this match is has become one of the top ten trending videos in Japan."

"Yeah." Allen groaned, " _Trust me_ , I'm aware of it. I've had to get off social media because of it. What does that have to do with Stain?"

"Before I tell you anything," Tensei sternly began, "I need you to understand that what I'm about to say is strictly confidential. If you repeat anything you hear before this is officially released, you may be held criminally liable."

Allen mimed zipping his mouth shut. "Understood, not a word."

"Good." Tensei hesitated for a second, and then dove right in. "From what we've gathered from interviews of the heroes who have survived their encounters with Stain, he isn't killing heroes for any kind of material gain—he's following an ideology. According to him, heroes should be inherently selfless, and by holding up what he calls "fake heroes" in pursuit of fame, glory and wealth, our society has become rotten and tarnished the very concept of heroism itself. By killing those whom he deems 'fake heroes', he believes that he is creating a stronger and more just society."

Hearing Tensei describe the ideology of Stain, Allen felt his stomach churn with dawning horror. With the muted video of him pitching Mei's support gear in front of him, Allen could understand with horrifying clarity why Tensei thought that he was the perfect bait.

' _Jesus fucking Christ,"_ Allen despaired, ' _I couldn't fit the profile of everything Stain hates about the world better than if I'd tried._ '

"So basically," Allen said in a hollow tone, "you're hoping that by dangling the most currently prominent example of a 'fake hero' in front of him, you'll be able to draw him out on your terms."

"Essentially, yes." Tensei confirmed with an apologetic look on his face, "We've tried to catch him in a variety of different ways, but Stain is exceedingly clever. The one thing we haven't tried yet is to exploit his zealotry towards his mission."

"I can't say that I'm thrilled with what choosing me as the bait implies about my character," Allen sighed, "but I can't honestly disagree with your reasoning." He forced himself to smile, "On the bright side, being the key to bringing down the Hero Killer should be a big help in fixing my terrible reputation, I might even be able to get back on social media again."

Tensei smiled weakly. "Ah, speaking of social media, that reminds me—I'm afraid that there is more to the plan…and my apologies in advance, because this is the part that I think you're really going to hate."

"Are you serious?" Allen exclaimed incredulously, "You want to dangle me in front of a serial killer like a worm on a hook and you haven't even gotten to the bad part yet?"

Tensei grimaced. "It depends on your point of view, really…we're going to need you to give us temporary control of your social media accounts and make a few posts that I've had our team of media experts craft for, uh, maximum effect."

"No _fucking_ way!" Allen emphatically declared. "I don't care what you threaten me with, I'm not letting anybody put words in my mouth ever again!" He angrily pointed at the screen showing his second match. "The last time I promised to help somebody like that, _that_ happened! Do you have any idea how fucking _humiliating_ that was? And now you're telling me that it put me on the motherfucking _Hero Killer_ 's shit list! Putting me in physical danger is one thing—it's literally in the job description of being a hero, but this is _my reputation_ we're talking about here…you know, that thing that you explained the importance of _not even an hour ago_? Half of Japan already hates my guts, and the other half thinks that I'm some sort of clown! Now you want me to use me to provoke the most prolific serial killer in who knows how long by saying more shit that makes me look like a sellout loser? Even if it's in the interest of catching the hero killer, whatever you post on there is going to be on the Internet _forever!_ "

"You see, this is why I was prepared to strong-arm you and have you hate my guts over this." Tensei calmly replied in the face of Allen's furious rant. "I don't like this any more than you do."

"I _seriously_ doubt that," Allen retorted, feeling his inner smart-ass come out in full force, "or else you wouldn't have fucking suggested this in the first place! Oh, and don't worry about me hating your guts, because you've already done a great fucking job of ensuring that! Here's a newsflash for you, asshole: even if I know that you aren't fucking me over out of spite, you're _still fucking me over!_ " As he spoke, Allen's voice had progressively gotten louder and louder until he was shouting in Tensei's face.

"I think that you're forgetting," Tensei said, a hint of irritation leaking into his voice, "who actually holds the leverage here Martin-kun. This wasn't a request. As long as my people's _lives_ are on the line, your objections to the plan are rather low on my list of concerns."

"Semper Fast." Allen stiffly replied.

"What?" Tensei asked, confused.

"My hero name. That's what you can call me. I'll even accept S.F., or just Fasuto* if that's too awkward for you, but I don't want to hear my name come out of your mouth ever again, _Ingenium_." Allen spat out Tensei's hero name like it was a particularly vile epithet. "From this point on, our relationship is purely professional."

"Very well." Tensei agreed. "That's all I have to say for now. If you would hand me your phone, I'll get it down to our social media guys and get them started on the operation. Do you have any more questions for me, Fasuto-kun?"

"No," Allen grunted, pulling out his phone and angrily tossing it on the desk. "And it's not like it would matter even if I did, since my opinion clearly means fuck all to you."

Tensei stood up and sighed, "I'm sorry about how I'm being forced to handle this, Mar…Fasuto-kun, I really am, but being immature and having a bad attitude towards me isn't going to make things any easier on you."

"Let's be honest," Allen spat, "if you were really sorry, you wouldn't be making me do this. And you know what? Even if I am being immature, it might not change my situation, but it sure as hell makes me feel better." He shook his head. "I can't believe your brother looks up to someone like you…I wonder what he'd say if he knew what you were making me do?"

" _Watch it_." Tensei warned, "I realize that you have good reason to be angry with me, so I'm willing to tolerate a lot, but you had better leave Tenya out of it. Believe it or not, I'm trying to be as nice as possible about this, but if you test me, I can make your life _exceedingly_ unpleasant for you." He jerked his head towards the elevator, "We're going back down to the gym. After we run a few tests to determine your basic level of competency, we're going to spend the next few days doing everything we can to prepare you for the confrontation with Stain."

"Fine." Allen said, rising from his seat. "Lead the way, asshole."

(Iida Building, Floor 27)

His face beet red with exertion, Allen could hear his heart hammering in his chest, and focused on keeping his breathing even as he ran on the custom treadmill designed for Tensei at his third level of Fast Forward. According to the reading on the machine, he had been moving at an average pace of 84 kilometers per hour for the last ten minutes.

' _Fuck!'_ He gasped, unable to spare the energy to speak, ' _No more!'_ He made a hand motion signaling them to cut off the power. He grabbed the handrails and straddled the treadmill, placing his feet on the stationary sides before deactivating his quirk.

Once the treadmill was moving at a more manageable speed Allen got back on and jogged lightly to cool down, keeping the blood flowing in his legs so that he didn't cramp up and gradually slowed to a walk.

"That was impressive." Tensei complimented Allen, handing him a bottle of water. "That's only a bit below my own speed in my highest gear."

Allen greedily took a long swig from the bottle. He took a few minutes to get his breathing under control and grabbed a nearby towel, wiping the sweat off of his face. "What's the next test? Let's get this shit over with."

"Not right now," Tensei replied, "there's no point in running any more fitness tests right after wiping yourself out like that, so we'll be drilling your defense in the meantime."

"My defense?" Allen repeated, "I thought you said I wasn't going to be doing any fighting."

"You aren't." Tensei confirmed, "But like I said, it will take a few seconds for us to get there once Stain comes for you. By all accounts, Stain is incredibly sudden with his movements and someone with as much fighting experience as you should know that a few seconds is all it takes to end a fight. We want to make sure you survive until then, because Stain _will_ try and kill you."

"Wonderful," Allen sarcastically replied, "I'm happy to see that you care so much about my safety. It really gives me a warm fuzzy feeling to know that the person tossing me to a guy who feels duty-bound to murderize me is in my corner."

Nearby, a man in a ninja inspired outfit bristled at Allen's tone. "Hey, you had better watch your mouth kid!" He warned, "You Americans might not have any sense of decorum or respect, but that doesn't fly here in Japan!"

"Eat a dick!" Allen flipped the man off. "I'll show your boss exactly as much 'respect' as he's shown me!"

"I'm not his boss," Tensei corrected Allen, "Bukigura here has his own agency that he runs downstairs, and I asked him to come here and help get us prepared as a personal favor."

The man turned to Tensei incredulously. "Ingenium-san, I must protest. I will not waste my valuable time teaching such a disrespectful—"

"He has good reason to be upset with me, Bukigura." Tensei interrupted, bowing deeply. "Please, I implore you, let it go. I didn't call you here to lecture him on his manners." He turned to Allen. "That being said, your quarrel is with me, not my colleague. He's taking time away from his business to help us so please treat him with the respect he deserves."

Allen huffed. "Fine. I guess you have a point there." He turned to the other pro and gave a slight bow. "Sorry for being rude, you didn't know the situation, so taking out my problems with Mr. Manipulative Douchebag over there was wrong."

Tensei let out a frustrated growl, but let the dig slide. "Once you've finished catching your breath, go get in the ring with Bukigura."

Allen rose to his feet. "I'm fine," he said, climbing into the cage, "let's get to work. I doubt Stain would care if I'm tired."

Bukigura grunted. "At least you have correct attitude towards training, if nothing else. Tell me boy, do you have any experience fighting against weapons?"

"A decent amount," Allen replied, "A good portion of my style comes from Krav Maga and the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program. One of the first things I learned was how to disarm people using knives and guns."

"Knives and guns, you say? Well, it's better than nothing I suppose." Bukigura held out his hand and a katana materialized in his hand. "But do you know how to handle something like this?"

"A fucking _sword_?" Allen exclaimed, "No, of course not, who the fuck uses swords anymore?"

"Stain does." Tensei replied. "To lethal effect, I might add. We aren't exactly sure how his quirk works, but we know that it's somehow related to cutting. From what we've gathered, if he so much as scratches you, your entire body will become paralyzed and it's over."

Allen grinned. "Is that so? Then he's in for a nasty surprise against me."

"What do you mean?" Tensei asked.

"My quirk's biggest weakness is that certain bodily functions are unaffected when I use it. That's why I get more tired the faster I go. The fatigue sucks, but the most dangerous problem is that the rate my blood clots doesn't change, so if I get cut while using Fast Forward, I bleed out _really_ fast."

Allen took off his fatigue jacket, revealing the chain mail shirt underneath. "I can't afford to get cut, so I sacrificed a decent amount of mobility and endurance for safety." Allen smirked and pounded his chest. "He'd be able to pierce it with a stab, but he could slash at me all day with a katana and never get through this shit. I can hold out till you get to me, no problem."

"If that is what you think," Bukigura scoffed. "then you are a fool." He adopted a kendo stance. "Prepare to defend yourself, I have blunted the edge of my weapons, but they will still hurt quite a bit if they hit you."

Allen cracked his neck and hopped up and down on his toes. "If you insist. Don't think that it'll be that easy to hit me though." He activated Fast Forward at its lowest level and beckoned Bukigura to attack.

"We shall see." Bukigura replied, darting forward with surprising speed and slashing horizontally at Allen.

' _Whoa!'_ Allen backpedaled away from the weapon. He could hear it cut through the air as it passed through the space that used to be occupied by his neck. ' _Even boosted, that's fast!'_ He grinned. ' _But I'm faster.'_

Narrowing his eyes at Allen's confident grin, Bukigura shuffled his feet, juking and feinting, slashing in multiple directions. In the confined space of the cage, the sheer amount of territory that the katana allowed Bukigura to control was terrifying, and the man was clearly an expert at making the best use of it. Nevertheless, failed to connect with Allen in any significant way.

Relying on his enhanced perception, Allen simply dodged most of the strikes, but even he couldn't outright avoid all of them, so he swung his arm to block the blade with the ceramic bracers on his forearm. However, when the conjured blade came in contact with the protector, Allen's cocky grin dropped off of his face in an instant as the force behind the blow rattled his bones and blew his arm out of position. Allen was only able to twist his body from the follow-up attack by the slimmest of margins, and before he realized what had happened, Allen found himself with his back against the wall of the cage.

' _Fuck. I didn't expect blocking to hurt that much! With the range on the damn blade, running away is a no go in close quarters! I need to get in close if I want to survive this!'_ Allen boosted himself up to 4X and deflected the next strike of the blade upwards with his forearm bracer, gritting his teeth from the pain of the blow and closed the distance in an instant.

' _Got you!'_ He thought triumphantly, lashing out with a left straight that caught the pro hero in the cheek. The pro hero staggered backwards from the blow, dropping his sword, and Allen advanced to press his advantage. As he closed the gap, Allen saw Bukigura whip his right hand towards him in a suspicious movement, and he reflexively jerked his head to the side just in time for a small object to barely graze his face.

"Stop!" Tensei rang the bell next to the ring, signaling the end of the exercise. "You made it seven seconds."

Allen skidded to a stop and turned off his quirk. "What, why?" He protested, "He never connected, I was doing just fine."

"No," Bukigura replied, "you're dead." He pointed at a small throwing knife lying on the mat. "You aren't bleeding because I made it dull, but that grazed you."

"Fucking barely," Allen retorted, "That shouldn't—"

"Barely is all it takes." Bukigura interrupted, "What part of 'if you even get a scratch, it's over' did you not understand? I scratched you, so it's over, you're dead."

"You didn't tell me you were going to use throwing knives!" Allen protested. "I thought I was supposed to defend against a sword!"

"And that's why you're dead." Bukigura replied with absolutely zero sympathy in his voice. "I'll admit, you did better than I expected." He grudgingly admitted, rubbing his bruised cheek. "The reaction time that quirk of yours gives you is a pain to fight against, but as you can see, it can be worked around with experience and planning. Can you tell me what you did wrong?"

Allen wracked his brain, searching for an answer, but gave it up as a bad job and shrugged. "Besides not dodging well enough, not really…I knew I couldn't just keep running away from the sword in close quarters like this, so I thought that my chances would be better in close."

"You aren't wrong there," Bukigura agreed, "when fighting against an opponent with longer range, you want to close the distance and get inside. However, this training is about surviving until help arrives, not beating Stain on your own."

Tensei smiled nervously. "Please don't do that when we get to the real thing. Remember, this training is just to make sure that you survive until my team and I arrive. You aren't going to fight him."

Bukigura nodded, "After staggering me with the punch, you should have immediately moved to escape the corner and gotten back on the defensive. I can accurately throw a knife at a speed of around 14 meters per second from almost any position. We can only assume that Stain is at least as good, which means that anything thrown within a 3.5-meter range is going to be too close to react to and avoid in time."

"Luckily, with your quirk, his "kill" range is significantly smaller," Tensei added, "but for the love of god, please don't run in on him any more than you absolutely have to…ideally, you won't have to close in on him at all."

"Yeah, well I can tell you from personal experience that we sure as hell aren't living in an ideal world." Allen shot back before taking a swig of his water. "I honestly wouldn't be surprised if this whole fucking thing went south. Let's go again."

"Very well." Bukigura replied, grabbing a pair of padded gloves and tossing them to Allen. "But first things first. Take off those hardened gloves of yours—I'm lucky you didn't knock out a tooth with that punch earlier."

"Right." Allen said, "Sorry about that."

The two began their practice in earnest once again; with Allen stubbornly refusing to stop until Bukigura was exhausted and called it quits himself. He needed to thoroughly ingrain the reach of the katana into his defensive skill set, and didn't have a lot of time to do so. He would be damned if he found himself unable to move, completely at the mercy of a villain ever again.

' _I'm going to survive this.'_ Allen promised himself. ' _I'm going to get stronger and pull myself out of this hole I've dug, even if it means taking down Stain myself.'_

* * *

*The katakana for the English word 'fast' is ファスト,which is read syllable by syllable as Fasuto.

 **AN: I know, I know, I'm tossing a butt load of OC's at you guys lately. I'm sorry, but setting this arc at Ingenium's agency kinda leaves me with no choice. Props to those of you who correctly guessed why Tensei had picked Allen to be his bait. I've been planning out this set up for quite a while so it was gratifying to see it click. To those of you who are outrage on behalf of Allen, yes, what Tensei is doing is messed up, but in my mind, he's not actually a bad guy, he's very much like his brother was—furious and vengeful at losing a friend and colleague he felt responsible for, and determined to stop the same thing to happen to anyone else no matter what it takes. Just like Iida put his vengeance and anger ahead of saving Native in canon, Tensei is letting his own emotions get the better of him here.**

 **As always, please leave a review to let me know what you think. Plus Ultra, everyone.**


	25. The Hero Killer

Semper Fast Chapter 25

The Hero Killer

Allen Martin

SemperFast

Pathetic Coward Stain likes to hide in the alleys like a dog. He's afraid that real hero #SemperFast will bring an end to his pathetic crime spree.

13:56 – 12 May 2249

* * *

Allen Martin

SemperFast

The Hero Killer, a murderous loser at life who takes out his problems on better men. When he goes down, nobody will care. SAD!

14:01 – 12 May 2249

* * *

Allen Martin

SemperFast

Stain looks like the love child of Bob Marley and Michael Jackson, it's too bad that he has none of the talent of those great AMERICANS!

14:05 – 12 May 2249

* * *

As he took a break from the nonstop battery of physical assessments and sparring—interspersed with actual lessons on the hero trade, of course—Allen sat on the floor of the Agency's gym and stared at the screen of his phone with a growing sense of horror as message after message taunting Stain and general jackassery popped up on his twitter feed under his account.

"What…the… _fuck_?" Allen couldn't believe the amount of attention this was getting—his online presence had already grown enormously from the attention he'd gotten as a result of the UA Festival, but this level of exponential growth and engagement was something else entirely. "This got thirty-six _thousand_ retweets?" He shook his head. "I don't know whether to be pissed off or impressed…whatever Ingenium is paying that social media team of his, it's not enough."

The tweet storm geared towards drawing out Stain had begun the evening of his first day and continued nearly unabated at a rate of a new tweet every few minutes since then, and there were already people dividing into various camps over this. The vehement Allen-haters continued to spew venom at him with every post, calling him an attention seeker and a fraud—a portion of them even going as far as to defend Stain out of their personal distaste for Allen. Many others rallied to Allen's defense, supporting him for the 'brave stance' he was taking against the Hero Killer. Allen wasn't going to complain about the support, but he found that concept laughable in its absurdity.

' _How the hell is coming out against a serial killer considered brave?'_ He wondered, ' _Isn't that, like, a normal thing to think?'_

In addition to the his defenders and detractors, there was a growing number of people who questioned the legitimacy of the tweets themselves, reasonably pointing out the unlikelihood that someone would continuously make posts about the same topic without sleep. This bastion of logic actually gave Allen a welcome ray of hope that he could explain away this embarrassing chapter in his online profile. None of the tweets sounded like him, he'd just explain that he'd been hacked.

' _Aaaand I was just verified.'_ Allen's face fell at the little blue checkmark appearing next to his name upon refreshing the app. ' _Wonderful.'_

"Hey kid!" One of Tensei's sidekicks interrupted Allen's social media angsting session with a cocky swagger in his step. "Word around here is that you're accepting any challenges to spar." He jerked his thumb towards the door and smirked. "I want to—"

"Yeah fine, whatever." Allen interrupted, dismissively shooing the sidekick away like a fly—with the hand motion and everything—before looking back down at his phone. "I'll kick your ass in a minute."

True to Tensei's warning the first day, he had been the constant recipient of challenges from the pro's horde of flunkies wanting to 'teach him a lesson' and had long since run out of patience listening to their self-righteous diatribes. Tensei was wrong about one thing though—the act of knocking the smug pros down a peg still hadn't gotten old.

Being surrounded by so much hostility was exhausting, but Allen would be lying if he said that he didn't enjoy the opportunity to channel his inner Bakugo and throw their shit right back into their faces. It had even gotten to the point where Allen had made a game of seeing how angry he could make the people who got in his face.

His ego wounded, the sidekick bristled at Allen's casual disrespect. "You really think that you're hot shit, don't you? Just cause you beat the boss's little brother and you're part of the Stain team doesn't make you special…I—"

"Fuck, are you still here?" Allen cut him off again and rolled his eyes, not even trying to hide his utter contempt. Where did that guy get off calling him a kid? If he were a day over 20, Allen would eat his boots, laces and all. "Look _bro_ , you don't have to give me your whole spiel. I get the picture. Just like I got the picture with the twenty other butthurt losers who came at me before you. It's the same goddamn thing over and over again with you douchebags: 'blah blah, I don't like your face, this foreign kid is getting too big for his britches, I'm a whiny little fuck who didn't make the cut so now I'm trying to take out my anger over my tiny dick on someone who hasn't even started shaving yet!'"

"W-why you little…!" The sidekick's face turned purple with barely contained rage, "You…me…ring! Now!"

' _Oohoohoo he's pissed.'_ Allen's grin was of the shit-eating variety as he stashed his phone in his pocket. He took a quick swig of water and tugged on his padded sparring gloves.

The sidekick was glaring at Allen with molten hatred as he stepped into the cage and closed the door behind him. "So, how are we doing this?" Allen asked in a conversational tone, hopping up and down on the balls of his feet and running through a few basic combinations, "Since you're the genius who thought that getting his ass kicked by a kid in his first year of high school would make him look tough, I'll let you pick the rules."

"Quirks are allowed. No going for the eyes or the balls." The sidekick growled, displaying a mouth full of sharp teeth. "Fight doesn't end until one fighter yields or can't continue."

"You sure about that?" Allen asked, "That seems like a bit much for a sparring match, doesn't it?"

"Why," the sidekick snarled, his voice was deepening and his features and demeanor becoming more and more bestial by the second, "yo **u scared? After all that big talk earlier? Pathetic.** "

"Scared?" Allen laughed, "Nah, I was just worried about you. Getting knocked out is pretty bad for you, you know." He shrugged, "Fuck it—it's your funeral. Yo Referee! Start this shit!"

The moment the bell rang, the bestial sidekick let out a howl and pounced at Allen, clearing the entirety of the ring in a single bound with claws extended and teeth bared. He was determined to tear Allen a new one—literally if necessary. With a smirk, Allen activated Fast Forward at 8X and neatly stepped out of the way of the reckless lunge.

' _Bad move, animal man.'_ Allen thought, countering the sidekick's attack with an uppercut to the jaw that had his entire body behind it in addition to the force of the leap itself. Caught completely by surprise, the bestial pro's consciousness went out like a light, and still carried by his momentum, he crashed face first into the opposite side of the cage and lay there motionless, looking eerily like a corpse.

"Ah FUCK!" Allen cursed, shaking his hand from the blow's feedback. "That really fucking hurts! I better not have broken my hand!"

* * *

(Tensei's Office)

Three floors above Allen, Tensei turned off the screen that he and two others had just watched the short-lived spar through. Feeling smug, Tensei turned to Omou, who sat in one of the chairs across from him with his arms crossed and a scowl on his face.

"Are you finally satisfied now, Omou?" Tensei asked, "He's passed all of your tests with flying colors. The physical exams, the constant challenges from my sidekicks—everything we've thrown at him, he's overcome. Will you finally agree to help us with the operation?"

"He's ready." Bukigura confidently declared. "In all honesty, the kid's combat skills were already pro-level before he even got here, but with all of the weapons drills and the sparring we've been doing, his instincts and focus have been honed to a razor edge. If this whole thing weren't already skirting on the edge of illegal, I'd recommend that he assist in the fight itself."

"That won't be happening though," Tensei quickly added, "like I've been saying from the beginning, he's going to get out of there once we draw the Hero Killer out."

Omou closed his eyes. "I still don't like this, Tensei. I don't like this one bit." He shook his head. "It doesn't matter how big and athletic he is, or how talented he is at fighting, he's just a kid."

"He's a hero-in-training." Tensei replied. "And he's already been through worse than this. You've seen those scars on his face, he knows how cruel life and this job can be."

"That doesn't make this okay!" Omou exclaimed, raising his voice. "All you're doing is piling on to the trauma! At his age, he should be worried about his grades or girl troubles, not surviving an arranged run in with a murderous psychopath!"

"I get your concern, Omou, really, I do." Tensei sighed, "I _hate this._ I wanted to be the kind of hero that inspired others and made them smile, but that kid down there looks at me like I'm worse than the villains we're fighting. Whenever I imagine what Tenya would say to me if he knew what I was making his classmate do…it makes me sick to my stomach."

"Oh," Omou drawled sarcastically, "well I suppose that it makes it all okay then—it doesn't matter what you do as long as you _feel_ _bad_ about it, the ends justify the means, right?"

Tensei's eyes hardened, "I will do what I must. I _have_ to bring Stain to justice…why don't you understand that I have to put this to an end before he hurts anyone else!"

"Because you aren't doing this for _justice_ , or for _Native,_ you're doing it for _yourself!_ " Omou exploded. "I've known you for years, Tensei! You're letting your anger and your grief blind you to the fact that this is fucking _unacceptable_! For god's sakes, Tensei, he's _Tenya's_ age!"

"Then what would you have me do?" Tensei shouted right back, "All of your data indicates that he'll be killing again tonight! Do you want me to just sit back and let him target someone who won't even see it coming, just so it'll soothe your moral sensibilities?"

"No!" Omou slammed his fist onto the desk, "I want you to trust me to do my goddamn _job_! _I'll find him, Tensei!_ You just have to give me a little more time, you _owe me that_!"

"Tonight." Tensei was calm, unsettlingly so, as he delivered that single word. "You have until tonight, I don't _have_ any more time to give you. I'm taking him on patrol in a few minutes, but if you don't find him before 17:00, then I'm proceeding with the plan whether you agree to help us or not. End of story."

Bukigura let out a cough, feeling awkward in the tense atmosphere. Tensei had brought him in as a third party on this case because of his weapons expertise. It wasn't unusual for firms to collaborate in a pinch, but the inter-agency competition for the prestige of taking down high profile villains was cutthroat, and you simply didn't get any more high profile than the Hero Killer. At the moment, Bukigura wasn't even in the top 200 most popular heroes, so he leapt at the chance to get a piece of the glory, but didn't expect to be caught up in the middle of a major rift between the two major powers in the Hero side of the Ingenium agency.

' _Especially when the source of the tension is some foreign brat.'_ Bukigura was firmly on Tensei's side in this matter. If he had to weigh the life of himself and the lives of however many of his colleagues would fall before the Hero Killer was finally caught against the life of some unstable foreigner, he knew which he would pick in an instant.

"Fine." Omou conceded. "I'll help you with this, Tensei. It goes against every single principle I have, but I'll help you."

Tensei's shoulders sagged in relief, "Thank you, Omou. This is—"

"Shut up, Tensei." Omou harshly cut him off, "I wasn't finished." Taken aback, Tensei shut his mouth and went still. After eyeing him for a moment to make sure that he would indeed remain silent, Omou continued. "I'm not doing this for you. I'm doing this for that kid, because I don't need the death of a teenager on my conscience."

"That won't happen." Tensei swore, "I'll die myself before I allow it."

"You better be right, Tensei." Omou said, "Because if your little plan gets him crippled or killed, you can consider our partnership and our friendship over."

* * *

(Ingenium Agency Locker Room)

As he got dressed, Allen couldn't help but smile a little; even the prospect of being gutted by a sword-wielding homicidal maniac couldn't completely ruin his excitement for his first patrol. Sure, that aspect rained…no, _hailed_ on his parade, but he was finally going to do some hero work!

"You remember the plan right?" Tensei asked him, his voice slightly distorted by his helmet.

Allen's face soured. ' _And here's the first hailstone. I have to share my big moment with THIS asshole.'_

"Yeah, yeah," He replied, "I remember. You only spent the last three fucking days going over it." He scowled. "Couldn't I have gone with Bukigura-san instead?"

Tensei shook his head. "The fact that you're interning with me is public knowledge thanks to the tweets we've been putting out. Bukigura's involvement in this is something that we're keeping secret for the time being."

"Wonderful." Allen sighed before moving to leave the locker room. He stopped when he felt an armored hand grab him by the shoulder.

Allen roughly shook off Tensei's hand and whirled around. "Don't fucking touch me!" He growled, "In case you forgot, I still hate you!"

Tensei sighed and held out his hands in a gesture of acquiescence; his voice carried a tone of tired resignation. "That's fine. I can't change the way you feel about me, but I just wanted to warn you—be mindful of the way that you talk to me in public."

"Why should I?" Allen spat, "Worried that your Stain bait will embarrass you? That I'll hurt your precious image?"

"No." Tensei shook his head. "I'm worried that you'll hurt _yours_. Respect is a _big deal_ in Japan, Fasuto-kun. You told me when you first came here that you wanted to help change the public perception towards the American military presence here in Japan. If people see you treating me with blatant disrespect in public, it won't reflect badly on me, but on _you_. The reality of the situation is that I'm both your elder and a top 20 hero, and you…well, you're not exactly the most beloved person in Japan at the moment."

Allen initially opened his mouth to retort, but cut himself off and stood in thoughtful silence as he contemplated Tensei's point. ' _Fuck…he's right. I don't want to admit it, but he's totally right…even though he's a fucking douche, I'll just be shooting myself in the foot if I call him out in public. I need to focus on the big picture.'_

"Fine." Allen agreed. "You're still a dick, but I guess you have a point. I'll play nice for now."

"Excellent." Tensei said, "Now that that's out of the way, let's get moving."

* * *

(The Streets of Hosu City)

Luckily for Allen and his rather poor acting skills, he did not have to do much in the way of pretending to suddenly respect Ingenium again. As the two walked through the city, Tensei alternated between trying to pass on various the various bits of wisdom that he'd accumulated during his time as a pro hero and occasionally taking moments to greet the various citizens who approached him. During these interactions, Allen mainly hung back and kept his mouth shut, not trusting in his ability to keep his bad attitude towards Tensei completely in check.

"Fasuto-kun," Tensei asked, "Do you know why the majority of pros patrol during the day, even though most of the crime occurs at night?"

"No idea." Allen replied, "But I get the feeling that you're about to tell me."

Tensei shook his head, "No, but I'll give you a hint, it's the same reason that we wear costumes and the police wear uniforms."

Allen rubbed his chin and furrowed his brow, trying to sort out the underlying lesson Tensei was trying to impart. Credit where credit was due—for all that Tensei was screwing Allen over with his social media and the whole Stain situation, the man clearly took his role as a mentor seriously. "It's all about visibility…right?"

Tensei smiled and nodded. "Exactly. If the government's only priority was simply stopping illegal quirk usage when and where it happened, it might be more effective if we had licensed people in plainclothes ready to take out villains while they were unaware. By making our patrols during the day, at the busiest hours, we constantly remind the public of our presence and that acts as a powerful deterrent for would-be villains. The best example of this phenomenon is All Might—the mere rumor of his presence in an area immediately drops crime by over 90%."

Allen snorted. "Yeah I bet. Criminals are usually pretty dumb—that's why they're criminals—but you'd have to be a whole 'nother level of stupid or crazy to want to tangle with him."

~ _duDooop~_ The tiny earpiece Allen and Tensei were wearing sounded of in their ears, stopping them in their tracks. On their end of the line, they could hear Omou let out a heavy sigh.

" _This is Overwatch. I…couldn't find him."_ Omou's voice held a tone of utter defeat. " _All of my models say that he should be active_ _ **right now**_ _, but it's like he vanished off the face of the earth in the last hour or so…go ahead and begin the operation."_

Tensei nodded grimly and pressed the tiny button that turned on the microphone installed in his helmet. "Understood…I'm sorry, Overwatch."

" _Don't."_ Omou flatly rebuked Tensei; " _What's done is done. An apology is the last thing I want to hear from you right now…just promise me you'll remember what's most important in this._ "

Tensei took a deep breath and nodded. "I won't forget." He swore, "No matter what happens, or what I have to do, I'll live up to our deal."

"… _Good._ " Omou replied. " _Now let's nail this fucker to the wall._ "

Through his own earpiece, Allen listened to the conversation between Tensei and Omou with a mounting sense of confusion. ' _What was that all about?'_

* * *

(Hosu City—Back Alleys)

Allen figured that it was just his nerves getting the better of him, but once the sun had fully set, the growing darkness made the walls of the dirty alleyways and side streets of Hosu seem to close in on him, making him feel claustrophobic and jumpy. Before long, Allen found himself twitching at every tiny noise and he could hear his heart pounding in his ears while he checked every shadow for the menacing silhouette of the Hero Killer.

"Stain!" Allen shouted into the still night air, "Get out here and face me like a man, unless you're too scared to fight against a _real_ hero!"

~ _Boooooooom~_

Almost as if it were an answer to his challenge, an explosion sounded off in the distance and Allen flinched in surprise at the unexpected disturbance on what was, all things considered, a quiet night.

Wanting answers, Allen touched the switch to the tiny microphone attached to the collar of his jacket and pulled it close to his mouth. "Okay, uh…Omou…shit, I mean Overwatch," he stammered, having to remind himself to use codenames in the field. "This is Fasuto. What the fuck was that explosion just now?"

" _Overwatch here, I'm already on it, Fasuto…oh, fuck."_

" _Bukigura reporting in…what's the sitrep, Overwatch?"_

Omou's voice was grim. " _There's been a major villain attack, about five blocks from your location. The reports are saying that several villains appeared almost out of thin air and began attacking people…seemingly at random."_

" _Shit…tonight of all nights."_ Tensei swore over the line. _"Overwatch, do we have a description of the perps?"_

" _Initial reports are describing them as inhuman-looking with exposed brains."_

Allen inhaled sharply. "That description," he said into the mic, "it sounds just like that guy who attacked us during the USJ, the one who went toe to toe with All Might! _"_

" _The League of Villains…"_ Omou muttered, " _Ingenium, we need to abort the mission and focus on the attack happening right now."_

" _Are you certain about this, Fasuto?"_ Tensei asked.

"Yeah," Allen replied, "it's pretty hard to mistake something like that. How many people with exposed brains have you ever met?"

There was a heavy moment of silence as Tensei contemplated the proper course of action. "… _Understood. I'm suspending the operation. Overwatch, contact all of the sidekicks you can and direct them to the scene; Bukigura and I will head to the scene now; Fasuto…you get back to headquarters._ "

"What?" Allen protested, "Why? I can help too!"

" _That's an order Fasuto-kun."_ Tensei's voice held no compromise. " _You aren't allowed to fight, and I know for a fact that your class never actually finished its rescue training, so no, you_ can't _help. Just return now."_

"Shit…understood. Fasuto out." Try as he might, Allen couldn't actually argue with Tensei's logic. Without any knowledge of evacuation or rescue procedures, he was more likely to get in the way than help over there. Frustrated, Allen kicked over a nearby trashcan and began to walk back to the main street.

The first and only clue Allen was no longer alone in the dingy alley was a sudden, strong, and painful impact to his mid-back and the distinctive ~ _clack~_ of metal on pavement. When he spun around to identify what had just hit him, Allen paled at the sight of the throwing knife that had bounced off of his armor lying on the ground, gleaming wetly in the dim light.

The first thought to go through Allen's head when he saw the knife was that it would have pierced his heart if he hadn't been wearing his armor. The second was ' _Oh FUCK!'_

After his second thought, Allen didn't bother wasting any time looking for the source of the blade. He darted to the nearest wall and planted his back against it to prevent any further sneak attacks. He desperately pawed at his collar until he found the button to his mic and shouted "He's here he's here he's here!" in a panic, searching the shadows for any sign of the man out for his blood.

" _I'm on my way now."_ Tensei replied instantly. " _But I'm about two minutes out. I need you to hold on until then!"_

"To stop my blade like that…that must be quality armor you've got there." A cold, confident voice cut through the still night air. "I wonder: was it a reward for your little performance at the UA festival, or was it to protect you from the consequences from your empty boasting the last two days?"

~ _clump clump clump~_

Allen could hear footsteps approaching him, but he still couldn't see anything. "C'mon, c'mon, c'mon!" He muttered, "Where the hell are you guys?"

~ _Shiiiick~_ Allen swallowed hard at the instantly recognizable sound of a sword being drawn.

"Whatever the case may be, that armor won't save you from receiving your judgment, child."

Stain appeared, slinking out of the shadows with feline grace, his every motion revealing his role as a predator. His red eyes were narrowed at Allen, simultaneously filled with a combination of burning conviction and cold rage that sent a chill down Allen's spine and locked up his chest in terror. Perversely, Allen was reminded of the intense pressure that he had felt from All Might in his first hero class.

"This rotten society is filled with worthless trash who sully the name 'Hero'. I will reclaim that name by purging this world of the false idols." As Stain stalked closer and closer to him, the air grew thick with the smell of copper.

' _No, not copper._ ' Allen realized, ' _it's blood. He smells like blood.'_ Swallowing hard, Allen raised his fists. ' _I fucking knew it. "You won't have to fight" my ass.'_

"It makes no difference whether you fight me or not." Stain told Allen. His voice held the certainty of someone stating an inescapable fact. "You will fall, because you are a fake. Nothing but a pretender wearing a costume."

Not bothering with a quip of his own, Allen activated his quirk and dashed in with blistering speed, slipping past the sword and surprising Stain enough that he leapt backwards just barely avoiding the long uppercut Allen sent towards his chin.

In a reflex drilled into him over the last two days, rather than continue to press the attack, Allen shifted his weight and cut an angle to his left, avoiding the throwing knife that whistled through the space that had previously been occupied by his head.

Without missing a beat, Stain darted forward with a vertical slash that Allen avoided by slightly twisting his body and deflecting the course of the blade with his bracers. With the opening created by the successful defense, Allen tried to front kick Stain in the stomach, but only scored a glancing blow when the assassin back stepped away from the kick.

As he moved backwards, Stain slashed downwards at Allen's extended leg with a two-handed swing that loudly scraped across his shin guard and threw off Allen's balance. Allen stumbled backwards and was forced by his precarious footing to duck and roll away from the lunging stab Stain used as a follow up to his previous attack.

' _Jesus Christ this guy is fucking unreal!'_

Allen couldn't believe it. Even at 4X, he was only barely keeping up. Not only was Stain generally fast—he was frighteningly sudden. His moves had virtually no wasted motion to them and his tells were almost non-existent. Stain's unblinking and focused eyes smoothly followed Allen's movement, effortlessly seeing through every feint, dirty trick or tactic that Allen tried to throw at him.

' _This feels like fighting someone on the level of my dad…fuck…I think that Stain might be a master level martial artist.'_

Shaken by this realization, Allen tried to take a step another step backwards, but found his retreat halted when he backed into something solid. Surprised by the unexpected barrier, Allen briefly turned around, and realized that he had quite literally been backed into a corner. ' _What? When did this happen?'_ Allen's heart constricted with fear at the grim satisfaction of Stain's face. ' _Has he been herding me here this whole time?'_

The time it took Allen to check the wall behind him was the only opening Stain needed. When he turned back around, Allen saw a flash of silver in the corner of eye and instinctively turtled up, covering his face with his armored forearms. His desperate block saved him from the sword, but it also left him open to a vicious knee to the stomach that knocked him out of Fast Forward and left him retching, doubled over in pain.

Seizing upon the opportunity, Stain grabbed Allen by the throat, slammed him against the wall hard enough that he briefly lost consciousness and punched him multiple times in the nose, breaking it and sending a trail of blood flowing down his face.

Because Allen's eyes were unfocused and his vision blurry from the brutal assault he had just sustained, he failed to witness Stain lick Allen's blood off of his fist, but he certainly noticed the effects when he felt his body lock up from the neck down.

"Any last words before you die?" Stain asked, effortlessly pinning Allen against the wall with one arm. "You fought well for someone so young, so I'll listen to what you have to say, as long as you make it fast. I've got other scum that I need to deal with tonight as well."

"Last…words?" Allen slurred, awareness returning to him as the seconds ticked by, "Yeah…actually I do have something to say…" Allen dropped his head and mumbled.

"What did you just say to me?" Unable to make out Allen's words, Stain forcibly lifted his head and leaned in close to hear him better.

Allen looked up and flashed a bloody smile at Stain. "I said _look behind you_ , _asshole_."

Seeing the triumphant look on Allen's face, Stain looked over his shoulder and widened his eyes at the sight of an armored foot approaching his face at a blistering rate.

 **AN: *Laughs evilly*. Stain is one scary motherfucker, and frankly, Midoriya and Todoroki are just lucky he wasn't actually trying to kill him because he's the real deal. An S-Class villain who's much stronger, faster, and more dangerous than he has any right to be, given his quirk. Let me know what you think in the reviews, and until next time, PLUS ULTRA!**


	26. The Man His Brother Admires

Semper Fast Chapter 26:

The Man His Brother Admires

(Alleyways of Hosu City)

Reacting with nearly inhuman speed, Stain dropped Allen and rolled out of the way just in time to avoid having his head smashed like a watermelon between Tensei's foot and the brick wall.

Deciding that they were in too close of quarters to effectively use his katana, Stain dropped his sword and drew a knife from its sheathe, lunging at Tensei with a stab that the pro hero deflected with a rising knee. Flowing with the movement, Stain shifted his grip and changed the stab into an upward slash. At the same time, Tensei used his raised knee to transition into an Engine-boosted side kick to the assassin's stomach, leaning back just enough to avoid a solid blow from the slash, but had the helmet knocked from his head.

The loser of that exchange, Stain let out a pained grunt and was sent flying into the wall of the alley from the force of the attack. Expecting Tensei to follow up, Stain feigned greater injury than he had actually suffered, slumping over and slipping one of his hidden knives out of his wrist wraps. He tensed his muscles, ready to strike at a moment's notice.

"Fasuto-kun!" Tensei shouted to Allen, never taking his eyes off of Stain. "Get up! We're getting you out of here!"

"I can't move!" Allen replied, "He never cut me, but he got me with his quirk somehow…I didn't see what he did."

Realizing that Tensei wasn't going to take the bait, Stain dropped the injured act and got back on his feet. "An admirable attitude, Turbo Hero." He praised, circling around to block the possibility of escape. "I must admit, I didn't expect trash like you to put the life of this disrespectful child ahead of your grudge against me." His eyes narrowed. "But one heroic act does not change your true nature, you fake. Neither of you will leave this place alive."

Glaring at Stain, Tensei clenched his fists. "Fasuto-kun, I want you listen to me very carefully…can you activate your quirk?"

Allen wrinkled his brow in confusion but checked, activating 2X for a brief moment before shutting it off. "Yeah, I can…but what good will that do? I'm still paralyzed."

Tensei slid into a fighting stance and stared the Hero Killer down. "I have reason to believe that Stain's quirk works on some sort of time limit…do you understand what I'm saying?"

Allen's eyes widened. ' _If that's true, then I can cut the time down to a fraction of what it should be!'_ "Yeah, I understand."

"Good," Tensei said. "I'm going to hold him off as long as I can. When you're able to move, I want you to run away from here as fast as you can, even if it means leaving me behind…understand?"

Allen turned on Fast Forward at 8X without another word. He wasn't going to acknowledge an order he had no intention of following. He might hate Tensei, but there was no way that he would leave anyone to die like that. As soon as Allen turned on his quirk, Stain's eyes widened and he tore his gaze from Tensei to direct it towards Allen.

Stain could sense how long his quirk would work on a person, as well as the amount of time remaining until it wore off. He knew as soon as he had tasted Allen's blood that he was type-B, and that he should have had a full eight minutes to dispose of him. He couldn't comprehend why, but his senses were telling him that he had less than a minute remaining before the boy could move again. "That's going to be a problem." He muttered, "I need to kill him now."

"You don't have time to worry about him, Hero Killer." Tensei growled, dashing forward and feinting a low kick at Stain's front leg. Reacting to the feigned attack, Stain leapt into the air and lashed out with a kick of his own, hoping to spear Tensei's shoulder with one of the spikes on his steel-toed boots, but missed when Tensei unexpectedly spun around, avoiding the counter and used his quirk to change the timing of his follow-up attack—a blindingly quick roundhouse to the mid-section that connected cleanly, spittle flew from Stain's mouth before he was sent tumbling down the alley. "I'm going to be the one to take you down."

' _Holy fuck, he just nailed him with that tornado kick! Fuck yes!'_

Seeing the exchange in super slow motion let him recognize Tensei's tactic as the very same one Tenya had somewhat successfully used against him in the tournament—though judging from the distance that Stain had just been sent flying, Tensei's kicks were clearly on another level in terms of power. ' _That ability to change up the timing of their kicks in an instant is really hard to read, even for an experienced fighter.'_ More importantly, Allen remembered how much even a glancing blow from an Engine-boosted kick hurt. Stain would be feeling that hit for a while.

His legs trembling from the vicious blow he had just taken, Stain pulled himself to his feet. His face was contorted with pain; his breathing was ragged and uneven. Even still, he stood. "Too weak." He said, drawing two knives, wielding one in each hand. "Far too weak. A kick like this will never defeat me…I won't allow it."

"You don't have a choice in the matter." Tensei said, dashing forward on the attack once again. "Hero Killer Stain…in the name of all of the heroes whose lives you have taken, I will bring you to justice!"

When he heard Tensei's words, something in Stain's face changed. "You don't get to speak of justice to me, you pretender!"

Stain leapt into the air and kicked off of the alley wall as a springboard to jump clear over Tensei's head, landing in a crouch. Both hero and hero killer spun around to confront each other. Stain's eyes were cold as ice and his voice dripped with venom as he swung his blades at Tensei like a whirlwind. "You're nothing but a corporate stooge, selling your name as a hero for money, basking in luxury and tainting this society with your greed!"

Tensei swayed backwards, narrowly avoiding Stain's attacks, placed on the defensive by the killer's all-out assault. "I don't want to get lectured to by a murderer who kills men and women just trying to make a living by helping others!" He spun away from one of Stain's lunging stabs and used the motion to fire off a spinning back kick that Stain dodged by throwing his hips back, letting Tensei's foot shoot past him.

"Heroes shouldn't be seeking compensation!" Stain stepped back, and then launched himself forward with a flying knee that Tensei blocked with his arms before he was sent stumbling into the side of a nearby dumpster by a front kick that connected solidly to his sternum. As he moved forward to press his advantage, Stain suddenly stopped in his tracks and turned to Allen with narrowed eyes.

' _Oh shit.'_ In his sped up state, Allen couldn't understand Stain's words, but he certainly understood the murderous intent glinting in his eyes. ' _I'm going to die here, aren't I?'_

"Look's like time's up." In one smooth motion, Stain flicked the knife in his right hand into the air and caught it by the blade. "Fighting both of you at the same time would be difficult. I'll take care of you now." He launched the blade straight at the paralyzed teen.

"Overdrive!" Tensei bellowed, activating his quirk at the highest level he could and blurred into motion, diving in front of the blade and taking the hit for Allen. The knife had been thrown with incredible force, piercing the back of Tensei's outstretched hand and pinning it to his shoulder.

Stain blinked in surprise at the sacrificial move, but did not hesitate for long and moved in for the kill, smashing the butt of the knife with his palm, pushing the blade even deeper into Tensei's shoulder and drawing out a gut-wrenching howl of pure agony. Stain grabbed the hilt of the blade and push kicked Tensei in the chest, removing the blade and sending the armored hero stumbling backwards. He licked the bloodied knife, making Tensei's eyes go wide with horror as he felt his body go limp and crumple to the ground like a puppet that had just had its strings cut.

"This wasn't what I had intended," Stain said, "but taking you out of the picture accomplishes my goal all the same. Now, back to the business at hand."

"N-no." Tensei gasped, feeling faint from the blood pouring from his shoulder. "Stain,' he grunted, "listen to me…do whatever you want to me, but please, spare the kid. H-he didn't write any of those things online…I made him do it! F-for god's sakes, he's just a boy!"

"Self-sacrifice." Stain acknowledged. "Admirable, Ingenium, very admirable. I've decided not to kill you after all." He paused, "I think I'll cut all of the tendons in your legs, instead. You might even walk again, eventually, but your career as a hero is over."

"The _fuck_ it is, you blood-sucking freak." Allen growled. Tensei's sacrificial dive had bought him the few precious seconds that he needed, and Stain's quirk had finally worn off. He was back on his fight. He held Stain's sword in one hand and glared at him with molten hatred in his eyes.

"Damn." Stain cursed, glaring at Allen. "I took too long, huh? How did you break free from my quirk, boy? I know that you should have been under its influence much longer than you were."

"Run, Martin-kun!" Tensei shouted. "Get the hell out of here now!"

Allen shook his head. "There's no way in hell that I'm leaving you to die after you just took a knife for me."

"That's an order!" Tensei's voice was hoarse with distress. "Get out of here! Go!"

"I think I can see why your brother admires you so much now." Allen placed the tip of the battered sword against the ground at an angle and stomped on the blade, snapping it in two before tossing it aside. "Yell at me all you want later, but I've made my decision. We're either getting out of this mess together…or not at all."

Stain growled at the sight of his sword being broken. "Big talk." He spat. "That's all you are, boy. That's why you will fall to me, _again_."

"We'll see." Allen said, activating Fast Forward at 4X and darting forward in a serpentine pattern. His unpredictable motion allowed him to dodge another series of throwing knives.

' _He's slower than before.'_ Allen thought as he snatched the lid off of a trashcan, using it to block on more thrown blade before he hurled it at Stain like a discus, catching him in the shoulder. _'He would have been able to dodge that easily when the fight first started. He's got a good poker face, but that kick from earlier clearly hurt him…maybe broke some ribs.'_ Allen glanced at Tensei. _'I can do this! I have to do this!'_

Drawing yet another knife, Stain rushed wildly at Allen, alternatively slashing and stabbing at his hands, his legs, armpits and his face—anywhere that was lightly armored or unarmored. Undeterred, the teenager closed the distance, dodging, slipping and parrying the slow motion attacks with razor sharp focus. Unlike before, there were openings, but he didn't take them. He had to be patient, to wait for the perfect moment to strike—even injured, Stain was incredibly dangerous and wily, Allen knew that he'd only get one chance.

Finally, the moment he was waiting for arrived—Stain lunged forward, slashing downward at a specific angle that Allen had practiced the defense for thousands upon thousands of times. Moving on autopilot, he stiffly redirected the slash, grabbing Stain by the wrist and yanking the arm forward and down. Stain's eyes widened when Allen shifted his grip and grabbed the same arm with his other hand, turning his hips and forcing Stain off balance, spinning him around and placing him in a textbook standing shoulder lock.

"You—" Stain began.

Allen didn't hesitate. Stain could perform any manner of reversal or escape from that position, so he jerked the captured limb as hard as he could, wrenching the joint out of its socket with a sickening ~ _pop~_.

"You little bastard!" Stain howled. "I'll kill you!"

"You aren't killing anyone today." Allen said, dropping out of Fast Forward and kicking out the back of Stain's knee, bringing him to the ground. He planted his knee on Stain's mid back. "You aren't killing anyone ever again, now go to sleep you psychopathic fuck!" He shouted before smashing his elbow into the back of Stain's head. As soon as Stain went limp, Allen wasted no time in pulling out a pair of handcuffs from his pockets and slapping them around Stain's wrists.

As the adrenaline flooding Allen's body began to fade, he let out several shuddering breaths and wearily pulled himself to his feet. He'd never deliberately hurt somebody that badly before, and he felt a little sick to his stomach. "That fucking sucked." He announced, "Next time someone decides to use me as bait, I don't care what the consequences are, I'm telling them to go fuck themselves."

"Sorry to interrupt," Tensei said weakly, "but can you please call Overwatch now? Tell him to send an ambulance, too, because I think I'm about to pass out from blood loss."

"Yeah…yeah, I'm on it." Allen grabbed his collar. "Overwatch, this is Fasuto. Stain has been neutralized…we need a pickup and an ambulance if you've got one, I'm pretty much fine, but Ingenium is injured and bleeding pretty bad."

Omou's voice was tinged with relief as it crackled over the comm., " _Copy that Fasuto…thank goodness…Luckily the situation with the Noumu is mostly under control now thanks to Endeavor showing up for some reason. Just sit tight."_

"Copy that." Allen acknowledged. Spotting one of Stain's many blades lying on the ground—a small foldable pocketknife—he picked it up and inspected it carefully before slipping it into one of his pockets on an impulse. _'I'm keeping this.'_ He decided, ' _I deserve a fucking souvenir for this bullshit.'_

Allen walked over to Tensei. "Tell me how to get this armor off of you," he said, "we need to put some pressure on that wound."

"Let's get out of this alley first." Tensei said. "I'll feel a lot better once we're on the main street."

"Good point." Allen acknowledged. "Can you move at all?"

"No, I'm still paralyzed."

"Wonderful…I guess I'll carry you then." Allen grunted as he heaved Tensei's limp body over his shoulder in the classic fireman's carry. Tensei bit back a whimper of pain as the sudden movement caused his shoulder wound to flare up.

" _Fuck_ you're heavy!" Allen complained through grit teeth, staggering from Tensei's dead weight out of the grimy alley. When he finally reached the mouth of the passageway, he set Tensei down with a palpable sense of relief. "All right," Allen said, "let's tend to that wound."

"Go check on Stain first." Tensei insisted. "I won't bleed to death before help arrives. We can't run the risk of Stain escaping."

"No way in hell is he escaping." Allen said. "I restrained him and he's out cold. Even if he managed to get free, he's got a dislocated shoulder and probably a couple of broken ribs. He's done."

"Just humor me." Tensei had a dark look on his face. "Never assume anything when it comes to villains. Until they are in police custody, expect that they can and _will_ kill you if you drop your guard."

Allen stared at Tensei for a moment before letting out a sigh. "Right." He said. "Be right back."

"Just…be…careful." Tensei said, closing his eyes and slipping into unconsciousness.

Allen stood up from his kneeling position and turned the corner to go back into the alley. His only warning was a blur of movement and the glint of metal under the streetlights. Flinching backwards reflexively, Allen felt a searing pain erupt from the top of his forehead, stopping just short of his left eye. Letting out a surprised cry of pain, he knew in an instant that his reflexive dodge was the only thing that saved him from losing his eye.

He also knew that he had bigger problems then almost losing his eye at the moment, such as Stain, who was awake and running his tongue over the bloodied knife. Under the influence of the Hero Killer's quirk once again, Allen collapsed.

"N-no," Allen swore, "how are you awake? What the fuck does it take to bring you _down_!"

"I already told you." Stain stood over Allen with murderous intent. "I will…never be defeated by a fake like you." Stain was in a clearly terrible condition. His left arm hung limply to his side, and the thumb on that hand was clearly broken from Stain's successful escape from Allen's handcuffs. He knelt over Allen and lined up the tip of his blade with Allen's throat. "Now…it's time for you to die."

Recognizing that there was nothing he could do, Allen closed his eyes and waited for the end. Then he heard the sound of footsteps, the crackle of electricity, and the cry of a very familiar voice.

"Get the hell away from my friend! SMAAAAASH!"

Allen opened his eyes and blinked several times, unable to believe them. Standing over the downed form of Stain was none other than Midoriya, wreathed in green lightning and illuminating the night with a hair-raising display of power.

"M-Midoriya?" Allen stammered, unable to believe it. "What are you doing here?"

"I—" Midoriya began, but was interrupted by a kick in the head from a tiny old man in a yellow costume.

"I told you not to go ahead of me, you disobedient brat!" The old man turned to Allen and grinned. "No need to worry now, kid. The cavalry has arrived."

Shouts and footsteps echoed in the distance, rapidly growing louder as they approached.

"This is the place!"

"Look, it's Ingenium! He's unconscious, but still breathing!"

"Oh my God, is that the Hero Killer?"

Allen wanted to weep with relief. His encounter with Stain couldn't have been more than ten minutes long, but it had felt like an eternity.

"No…" Stain growled, pulling himself up off of the pavement. "It's not over…my work isn't finished..."

"What's going on here?" A booming baritone voice rang out.

"Endeavor!" Midoriya exclaimed, followed by "Todoroki-kun? What are you doing here?"

"My internship…what else?" Todoroki paused. "Is that the Hero Killer?"

"ENDEAVOR!" Stain howled, silencing all of the gathered heroes with his voice and a glare, freezing them all in place at the sight of the wild, animalistic fury in his eyes. "They must be cleansed in blood. This rotten society...the corrupt fakes calling themselves heroes, the villains idly throwing around their power…I will purge them all!" He took a step forward, "Come at me then! I'll kill all of you pretenders! Only the true hero will bring me to my end!" He bared his teeth at them all, "ALL MIGHT IS WORTHY!"

For a moment, nobody dared move. So great was the pressure of Stain's conviction that everyone from the interns to the number two hero was frozen in the face of such unyielding spirit, a sense of will so thick and oppressive that it hung in the air like tangible force. And then, as quickly as it had arrived, it was gone.

"He…he's unconscious." Allen heard someone say. "He's still on his feet, but he's unconscious."

"Whoa…"

"Yeah, that's very impressive and all, but can I get some help now?" Allen called out. "I'm still paralyzed from him trying to kill me."

(SEMPER FAST)

The aftermath of the Hosu Incident, as it came to be called, sent ripples through society that nobody could have predicted. Unbeknownst to the heroes at the scene, Stain's final monologue had been captured on live camera by a member of the press flying overhead. The clip quickly made its way onto YouTube and spread across the Internet like wildfire. Interestingly, the public conversation surrounding Noumu attack—despite doing much more damage—died off quickly in favor of the mystery surrounding Stain and his ideology. As far as Allen was concerned, he couldn't care less. He had bigger problems to deal with at the moment. Problems like the humanoid dog currently standing in his hospital room.

"Unlicensed quirk use?" Allen protested from his bed, "Are you fucking kidding me right now?" Despite his only significant injury being the cut on his forehead—which only required a number of stitches—he had been kept overnight for observation. He turned to Tensei, who left his own room for this meeting and had his arm wrapped in a sling. "I saved your life! _Fuck,_ I saved _my_ life! He wanted to kill me, remember? Was I just supposed to let him?"

Tensei shook his head. "No, the issue isn't that you protected your own life—there are exceptions for that, of course. This issue is that you stayed and fought instead of running away when you had the chance, and like I instructed you." Tensei grimaced. "Though I'm obviously grateful that you didn't, given how it worked out."

"That this scenario did turn out well in the end is what makes this a rather delicate matter." Tsuragamae Kenji, the dog-headed Chief-of-Police told Allen. "We are grateful for your actions in apprehending the Hero Killer, but the fact of the matter remains that you used your quirk to cause injury to another person without authorization. You would receive a great deal of accolades if the true nature of your involvement in this case made public, however, we would have no choice but to punish you."

"That's fucking bullshit!" Allen exploded.

"The law is the law, ruff." Chief Tsuragamae gruffly rebuked Allen. "We cannot simply ignore it if and when it seems expedient to do so. The only reason that our superpowered society functions at all is due to the strict enforcement of our laws regulating quirk use."

"But I did the right thing!" Allen clenched his fists and glared at Tensei. "If you two think that I'll simply bow my head and accept punishment for taking that monster down, then I can tell you where to shove it!"

"An apology won't be necessary, Martin-san." Tsuragamae said. "Ingenium and I have come to an agreement regarding another solution to our legal conundrum."

"Oh yeah?" Allen said, "And what's that."

Ingenium sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. "If all the credit for the fight with Stain and his various injuries is given to me."

Chief Tsuragamae nodded. "Luckily, this will be an easy sell since your quirk doesn't leave any distinguishing marks. You won't receive any recognition, but we can sweep the disciplinary issues under the rug."

Allen pinched his nose. "So let me get this straight…I get my reputation on social media fucked as part a sting operation, nearly get killed being the bait in said operation, risk my life fighting for the guy who put me in that situation, and now you're saying that I don't even get any credit for any of it, so I end up looking like some loser who had to be rescued from the consequences of his big mouth." He glared at the two adults. "Have I got my details straight so far?"

Tsuragamae and Tensei exchanged a look. "Well when you put it that way, that seems like a raw deal for you."

"No, _really_?" Allen layered as much sarcasm into that phrase as he could physically muster. "And here I was just _thrilled_ with my options until you said that." He paused. "I fucking hate you, Ingenium."

"I'm so sorry Martin-kun." Tensei said. "I can't express how sorry I am."

Allen let out a bitter laugh. "Somehow the fact that you aren't malicious about fucking me over makes it even worse. If you were being an outright asshole about it, I could at least enjoy hating you…I know you aren't a bad guy, but you're still fucking me over really hard and I hate you for it."

Tensei hung his head. "If it's any consolation, I will do everything in my power to help you in your career. I will make this up to you Martin-kun. I swear."

"I'll take your fucking deal." Allen told Tsuragamae in a dull tone, ignoring Tensei entirely. "What do I need to do?"

"Nothing much." Tsuragamae replied. "Simply agree to never disclose the true version of last night's events, and the police department will consider the matter closed. We'll send you some papers to sign in the next couple of days. I'd recommend going over them with a lawyer."

"I'll take care the lawyer." Tensei said. "He still has two days left as my intern, technically."

"Fine, whatever. Now get the fuck out of my hospital room." Allen demanded, "I need some time alone."

Recognizing the black mood permeating the American teen, Tensei and Tsuragamae left. Feeling in desperate need of reassurance, Allen pulled out his phone and dialed Asui. She picked up immediately.

" _Ren-chan! I saw the news, are you okay? What were you thinking, taking on the Hero Killer?"_

"Hey, Tsu-chan." Allen said in a low tone, suddenly feeling exhausted despite not leaving his bed the entire morning. "I'm…I'll survive…do you have time? I can't answer any questions right now…I…just…I really need to hear your voice for a while. Can you tell me how your internship is going?"

Allen sat in silence as Asui regaled him with the story of the villain she had fought while searching for a pair of stowaways, her new friend Sirius, and her Mutant-type mentor with seal powers and how she found him 'completely adorable' even though nobody else did. Most importantly, she didn't ask any questions or smother him with unwanted concern. Somehow, she always knew exactly what to do to make him feel better when it really counted. He loved that about her, more than anything else.

"Hey Tsu-chan?" Allen said, finally breaking his silence. "If this is too soon for you, I understand…but when the internships are over, would you like to come over and meet my parents?" Allen held his breath after asking the question. Several seconds passed, seeming to stretch into an eternity.

"… _I'd love to, Ren-chan._ " Asui croaked, " _But…are you sure? You aren't asking me this because you feel like you have to, right?"_

"I'm sure." Allen told her, lying back on his bed to stare at the plain white hospital ceiling. "Right now, you're the only thing in my life that seems like it's going right." A sad smile stretched his way across his face. "I wanna show you off."

 **AN: Poor kid just can't seem to catch a break. At least he has people to help see him through. This was a pretty difficult chapter to write. I wrote at least five different endings to the Stain fight, but figured that this was as good as it was going to get. I'm sure I'll never be completely satisfied.**

 **As always, remember to leave a review to let me know what you think. I'll be working on chapter 2 of my new story next; Heroes Never Die, and then expect some fluff before we jump into the Summer Camp arc. Plus Ultra everybody.**


	27. Meet the Parents

Semper Fast

Chapter 27: Meet the Parents

~ _pop Pop, pop Pop, popopPop~_

The sounds of Allen's gloved fists hitting the leather mitts held by his father were crisp and loud in the confined space of his house's two-car garage-turned-boxing gym. The floors were snugly lined with mats, and tucked away in one corner was a heavy bag suspended from the ceiling. There were large mirrors for shadow boxing, a jump rope station, a speed bag, and set of free weights—all of the basic essentials.

~ _Pop pop popop Pop popop~_

"So," Chris said, suddenly swatting at Allen's head with the mitt and forcing his son to block and duck the follow-up blow, "tell me about this girl that's coming over today."

~ _Pop popop~_

' _Ah._ ' Allen thought as he continued to hit the mitts without pause. ' _Is why he dragged me in here so early in the morning?'_

Allen was relieved. One thing his dad believed in more than anything was structure—setting schedules and keeping to them religiously. They woke up at the same time, ate at the same time, and went to bed at the same time every day. Naturally, that sense of structure also applied to training, so when Chris had told Allen to get ready for an unexpected morning workout, he had been prepared for the worst—up to and including being pulled out of school.

While the truth behind the Stain incident had been concealed through the efforts of the police and the heroes involved, Tensei had paid a visit to his home the day after he and Allen were released from the hospital. He then proceeded to very apologetically reveal what had actually happened to Allen's shock and his parent's horror. When Tensei had finished his explanation, there was a very tense moment of silence before Chris very calmly walked over to the pro hero, thanked him for his honesty, and decked him with a lightning fast left hook, sending Tensei tumbling to the floor from the force of the blow. Allen honestly expected that he would have to do some very fast talking to avoid having the plug pulled on the whole hero school thing altogether, but so far the subject hadn't come up.

"Well," Allen replied, "what do you want to know about her?"

~ _Pop pop pop~_

"Anything important." Chris said, lashing out at an opening with a sudden swat of the mitt that caught Allen above the ear. "Keep that guard up, don't get lazy with your hands." He coached. "You've told your mom about her, but I don't know anything. I wouldn't want to say or do anything insensitive…your mom would kill me."

"I guess that makes sense." Allen blocked and ducked another series of swats and hit the mitts where Chris held them. "Let's see…she's pretty short, way shorter than mom, and she's really smart. Oh, and she's a mutant-type."

"Oh?" Chris raised an eyebrow. "A mutant-type, huh? What level of mutation are we talking here?" Although he was visibly indistinguishable from a regular person, Chris's Lightning Reflexes was technically classified as a mutant-type quirk as well. "What's her quirk do?"

"It's called Frog Form." Allen explained, "She can do pretty much anything a frog can. She's got a few visible mutations, but she's still pretty cute." He frowned, "Though she doesn't seem to think so."

"Okay, break." Chris said, ending the exercise. "We'll get some water, chat a few more minutes then get you on the bag for three rounds." He took off the leather mitts and grabbed a bottle of water. "Girls have had self-image issues since the beginning of time. Just keep letting her know that you think she's attractive. The message will get through eventually." He paused to take a drink. "A frog huh? In my experience, those animal-like quirks are usually pretty strong, and hers sounds like a perfect quirk for a marine."

"I guess." Allen agreed, taking a sip from his own bottle. "Literally being amphibious would probably be pretty helpful—and she is _really_ strong. She can hold over a hundred kilos with her tongue and I'm speaking from experience when I say that her kicks are no joke—believe it or not, she can actually hit harder than you with one of those."

"Is that right?" Chris replied, impressed. "Now I really am interested in meeting her. I'd like to see the two of you spar, should be interesting."

"Dad." Allen groaned. "Not today. I invited her over so she could meet you and mom, not so we could beat each other up for your amusement."

"Why not both?" Chris replied with a grin, "What's the point of having kids if they don't provide entertainment value?"

SEMPER FAST

After meeting at the train station, Asui watched Allen with a growing sense of amusement as he worked himself up into a state of mild panic as they walked back to his house.

"There's nothing to be nervous about." Allen assured her, visibly nervous. "My mom is super nice and my dad might look kinda scary but there's nothing to worry about. Whatever. I'm sure that they'll like you. Everyone likes you."

"I'm not nervous." Asui croaked. She had enlisted Ashido's help once again in assembling her wardrobe for this event and was wearing a simple white short-sleeved sundress with an open green cardigan, with matching shoes and a necklace with a silver charm in the shape of a lily-pad. She felt pretty good about this—adults usually liked her.

"Sure, you're the first girl I've actually brought home to meet them." Allen continued to babble, ignoring Asui's statement of confidence. "The whole language barrier might be an issue, but my dad knows some Japanese, and I can translate—that's what I do for Kirishima and Ojiro and that works just fine."

"Don't worry about it." Asui said. "I need to practice my English anyways." She was good at memorizing vocabulary, so her grades in that subject were decent, but there was no substitute for actual practice speaking.

"My mom is a hugger, so, uh, be ready for that. Mostly, you just have to smile and nod—that's what gets me through half of my conversations with her. My dad probably won't talk much, but he's normally pretty quiet, I guess I got her talkativeness." Allen let out a nervous laugh.

"Ren-chan." Asui said, grabbing Allen's hand and snapping him out of his rant. "Calm down. I'll be fine."

Allen took a deep breath. "Yeah." He laughed, "Yeah I guess you will." With a smile, Allen stuck out his arm, and Asui grabbed hold of it. The two walked arm-in-arm the rest of the way to Allen's home, even past the base's gate guard, who shot Allen a knowing smirk as he inspected Asui's temporary pass and waved them through the checkpoint.

Walking through the American military base was a surreal experience for Asui. No matter where she looked, there were groups of uniformed soldiers patrolling and running drills. She saw tanks, armored cars, attack helicopters, and even a hanger full of large armored drones loaded with obscene amounts of firepower. As a Japanese citizen, her exposure to firearms was incredibly limited, but it seemed like everyone was carrying some kind of weapon at all times.

"Ren-chan?" Asui asked, "Is it always this active here? It seems like there are a lot of people running around for a Sunday, ribbit."

"Hm?" Allen looked around. He had been so distracted by the sensation of Asui pressed against him that he had been blind to his surroundings. He furrowed his brow and scratched the back of his head. "Now that you mention it…no, it's not usually like this. I mean, you'll see units drilling during the week all the time, but this is the first time I've seen this many do it on the weekend. I wonder what's up." He shrugged. "I'll just ask my dad, he should know."

SEMPER FAST

"We're here!" Allen called out as he and Asui entered the one story house together. He took a deep breath. He just knew that his parents—his mom especially—would do something to embarrass him. Probably intentionally.

Allen frowned. ' _No,_ ' he thought. ' _It'll definitely be intentional._ '

"Please pardon the intrusion." Asui said, the Japanese phrase slipping out automatically. Still on autopilot, she bent over to remove her shoes when Allen stopped her with a hand on her shoulder.

"You don't have to do that." He told her. "Unless our feet are really muddy or something, we keep our shoes on."

Asui stared blankly at Allen. He face was unreadable, but her body language clearly conveyed how conflicted she felt about violating 15 years of ingrained cultural etiquette. "But…isn't that really dirty?"

Allen shrugged. "You can take them off if it makes you feel more comfortable…I think I have a pair of slippers in my room that you can borrow."

Asui nodded quickly. "Please. It just wouldn't feel right, ribbit."

"Alright," Allen said, "just wait here then. I'll be right back."

Asui took advantage of the moment alone to inspect the various family photos lining the wall in the entranceway, and smiled faintly as she stared at the multiple images of a younger, more innocent Allen at play or cuddled up with his parents. One photo that caught her eye had a middle-school version of Allen with a wide grin and his arm around a younger, far scrawnier Midoriya's shoulders.

Asui blinked in surprise—Midoriya had always come of as bit high-strung, awkward and shy, especially around girls, but he exuded the aura of someone with a sense of purpose—he knew what he wanted out of life, and dedicated all of his effort to achieving that goal. Regardless of any other personality traits, this kind of conviction was inspiring, and it demanded attention and respect. Allen would pout if Asui ever said it out loud, but Bakugo also possessed the same trait. He was an ill-tempered, hotheaded, foul-mouthed bully, but nobody who knew him—Allen included—could deny Bakugo's dedication.

However, this younger Midoriya was nothing like the quiet, unassuming, yet oddly charismatic young man she knew. His wide eyes, tense smile, and defensive body language were reminiscent of a rabbit—or some other small, prey animal. He looked like a victim, someone who would jump out of his skin at the slightest sound.

' _Midoriya-chan must have changed a lot since middle school._ ' Asui mused. ' _Being friends with Ren-chan must have been good for him.'_

She was so focused on this photo viewing that she actually jumped in surprise, letting out a shocked croak when she heard an unfamiliar feminine voice address her from behind.

"So," Susan said, looking Asui up and down with a playful smirk dancing upon her lips, "you must be the famous 'Tsuyu' I've heard so much about. I'm Allen's mother, Susan."

Like Susan, Asui took a moment to visually inspect the woman in front of her. ' _Wow. She's pretty.'_ She blinked, captivated by the delicate features and wavy golden hair of the petite woman in front of her. ' _Ren-chan_ _has a lot of her in his face.'_ For a brief moment, Asui's eyes stopped at Susan's chest, and found that she was strangely relieved it was not much bigger than her own. Unbeknownst to Asui, Susan had actually done the exact same thing, and instantly concluded that she already liked Asui more than the other girls that Allen had brought up.

After several seconds of silence, Asui remembered simply staring at someone without responding to an introduction was universally considered somewhat rude across all cultures.

"He-hello." She croaked, cursing her thickly accented English, only made worse by the croaky nature of her voice. "I…am Asui Tsuyu…Tsuyu Asui." She corrected, remembering western naming order. She bowed to hide her flustered blush. "It very nice to meet you…um." She raised a finger to her mouth. " _Dono itteka?_ You are very… _kireina,_ ribbit."

"Um…" Susan said, suddenly regretting her decision to approach Asui without her son present. She doubted it was an insult, so she simply smiled. "Thank you?"

"She said that you're pretty." Allen translated as he walked back with his pair of slippers and handed them to Asui. "Here you go, Tsu-chan."

A wide grin Asui was very familiar with stretched across Susan's face. It was familiar because she had seen that exact expression on Allen's face countless times before—usually right before he did or said something that would prove troublesome. Susan had a pleased blush on her face as she wrapped Asui up in a tight hug, making the smaller girl let out a squeaking ribbit from surprise.

"My goodness, you are just the cutest thing _ever!_ " Susan cooed, squeezing the dumbfounded girl tight and stroking her hair. Susan turned her head stared at Allen with a hint of mischief in her expression. "I'm keeping her."

Allen let out a sigh. ' _I knew it.'_ He thought, ' _I fucking knew she would do something like this.'_

"Sorry Tsu-chan," he apologized, "I did warn you that she was a hugger."

"It's fine." Asui replied, her voice muffled by Susan's embrace. "Being friends with Mina-chan, it's not like I'm not used to it by this point."

"Okay," Susan said, letting go of Asui, "that's enough fun for now. How about we go and sit down?" She gestured at Asui to follow her into the living room. "I want to figure out what on earth anybody this precious is doing with my son of all people."

"Hey!" Allen objected. "What kind of mother says that? Aren't you supposed to be on my side?"

"I _am_ on your side, sweetie." Susan's voice was dripping with faux sincerity, and had an undercurrent of glee. "But I'm just trying to be objective here. I mean, just _look_ at her."

Asui looked back and forth between mother and son, overwhelmed by the rapid-fire exchange. She was tempted to just get Allen to translate, but Asui shook her head. ' _No, I need to practice, not only rely on Ren-chan._ ' "Please talk more…slowly. I…trying, but my English…not very good."

"Oh." Susan said, much more deliberately. "I'm sorry dear. I'll try and remember that. Thank you for making the effort." Allen gave Asui a look, silently asking if she got all of that. She nodded.

"So, Tsuyu," Susan began, "from what my son tells me, you're quite the catch. Pretty, sensible, good grades, what is it that you like about him? I love him, but Lord knows there have to be easier people to deal with."

Asui sat in silence for a number of seconds, trying her best to translate before she shook her head in defeat and looked at Allen. "I understood maybe a third of that, ribbit."

"Mom!" Allen complained. _"_ I realize that you're having fun with this, but are you seriously going to make me translate that?" Susan merely grinned.

"I'm also interested in the answer." A baritone voice cut in. Chris stepped into the room with a bag full of groceries in his hands. "Let me put these away real quick and I'll be right back." He glanced at Asui. "Do you eat meat? I'm making some traditional Texas food for dinner."

Allen's eyes widened and he grinned in anticipation. " _You're_ cooking tonight?" Allen pumped his fist in excitement. "Oh _hell_ yes!"

Susan crossed her arms. "You don't have to be _that_ excited." She pouted.

Allen laughed sheepishly. Although Susan did the majority of the cooking for convenience's sake, she didn't really like doing it, and often just threw things together in a somewhat haphazard way. On the other hand, Chris's mother—Allen's grandmother—had been a professional chef, and taught him how to cook. No matter what the menu was, the food that Chris made was superior to Susan's by a wide margin.

Chris nodded, mirroring his son's grin. "Tonight's a bit of a special occasion."

"Yes." Asui nodded. She shifted awkwardly. "Meat is good…but isn't that too…um… _takai?_ " She looked to Allen for help.

"Expensive." Allen provided the word she was looking for. She nodded.

Chris laughed, "Don't worry about it. I already bought the food, it would just go to waste if you held back at this point." He paused. "Besides, it's like I said. Tonight is a special occasion."

SEMPER FAST

Asui was stuffed. She wasn't quite uncomfortably full, but it was a close thing. The meal had been incredibly delicious, a veritable feast that was cooked to perfection. The meal began simply enough, with a garden salad that was lightly garnished with a balsamic dressing. Then came the main course: country-fried steaks—breaded and fried, crispy and golden on the outside but a perfect juicy medium-rare within; buttery garlic mashed potatoes—beyond their excellent flavor, they were whipped to the golden ratio of creaminess and solidity that provided an optimized mouthfeel; and all of it was covered in a home made creamy gravy that Asui was fairly sure she would be dreaming about that night.

The serving sizes were typical of an American meal—that is, far more than necessary—and it had taken a supreme act of willpower for Asui to quit eating when she did. When dinner had ended, she insisted on helping with the dishes despite the Martin parents' objections. Sensing that it would make Asui feel better if she could show her gratitude in some small way, Allen stepped in and said that he would do the dishes with her.

Allen scrubbed the pots, pans, and plates, handing them to Asui to dry and set in the dish rack. "Ren-chan." Asui croaked. "That may have been the best thing I've ever eaten in my life, so I need to know…can you cook like that too?"

Allen shrugged. "I can cook, if that's what you're asking—my parents had me making my own lunches since I was ten, but I'm not even close to as good as my dad. He's the undisputed master in this house." He grinned. "He has promised to teach me everything he knows though."

"Marry me." Asui immediately replied with absolutely zero inflection, making Allen choke with laughter.

Once they had finished the dishes, Allen gave Asui a brief tour of the house—not that there was much to show. She had been completely unsurprised by the gym in the garage, and let out a slight croaking laugh at the crumpled picture of Bakugo's face taped to the heavy bag.

"Really, Ren-chan?" Asui teased. "You keep a picture of Bakugo-chan?" She put a finger to her mouth and tilted her head. "Should I be jealous? Is there truth to rumors that all of the hostility is just unresolved sexual tension, ribbit?"

" _What?_ What rumors?" Allen exclaimed, face white with horror. "Which soon-to-be dead motherfucker is spreading these slanderous, slanderous lies?"

"Ribbit. That was a joke. Also, language."

Allen slumped his shoulders. "That isn't funny, Tsu-chan." He said in a pained voice.

Asui disagreed. "It's a little funny."

"No, Tsu-chan." Allen's expression grew stormy and his voice took on an edge of anger, gradually rising in volume. "It fucking _isn't_. This isn't a goddamn _joke_. I'm in my first year of Hero School, but my reputation in this country is already dogshit. You know that Japan isn't cool with public figures being gay. _I_ don't give a shit if someone is gay or not, but _a lot of people do._ " He slammed his fist against the sandbag and it slowly began to swing back and forth,"I don't need to get any more shit for stuff that isn't my fucking fault!"

Asui flinched, taken aback at Allen's sudden eruption off frustration and anger. She ducked her head. "I'm sorry Ren-chan…" she croaked, her voice was small and her face was red with shame. "I was just teasing you…I didn't mean to upset you like that."

At the sight of Asui's crestfallen state, Allen let out a sigh and pulled her in for a hug. "I know you were." He said gently, "I'm the one who should be apologizing for losing it like that…I'm just frustrated with the way things have been going lately. Doesn't make it okay for me to take it out on you."

Asui wrapped her arms around Allen's waist, returning the hug and squeezing him tightly before releasing him. "How about we finish the tour?" She said.

"There's not really anything else to show that you haven't already seen." Allen said, "All that's left is my room…and well…" Allen trailed off. He didn't think he had to explain the connotations that a teenage boy bringing his new girlfriend to his bedroom carried.

Asui looked up into Allen's eyes and smiled. "Well, what are you waiting for, ribbit? Lead away."

Allen nodded robotically and led her out of the garage, through the living room and down the hall before ushering her into his modestly sized room. "Well," Allen said nervously, "this is it…it isn't much, but it suits me well enough."

"I'm a little surprised at how clean it is." Asui croaked, glancing around at the large, but well organized collection of knick-knacks. She paused when her eyes fell upon the current year's female hero swimsuit calendar and frowned slightly before shaking her head—recognizing that a calendar was nothing to get jealous over. The month of May featured the Draco Hero, Ryukyu, and Asui's eyes widened at the sight of the number 10 hero's signature on the page.

"Oi." Allen grunted. "Why do I feel like you just insulted me?"

"You sure do have a lot of trophies." Asui commented, changing the subject. She walked over to a wall-mounted shelf holding a large collection of the awards he had won over his years playing sports. "Soccer, Baseball, American Football, Wrestling, Track…How many sports did you play, Ren-chan?"

Allen shrugged. "As many as I could. I've always been big and athletic, so sports were the main thing that I could do to stand out."

"Ribbit." Asui croaked in reply, sitting down on Allen's bed. She stared at the floor and began to fidget. "Um, Ren-chan?"

"Yeah?" Allen raised an eyebrow. Asui was practically the definition of stoicism, so she rarely acted shy or reserved. Privately, he wished that she would do it more often, because he thought that she looked incredibly cute like that. He felt a tingling, excited heat building in his stomach and chest. "W-what's up?"

"I've been thinking a lot about when we first got together…at the sports festival. What happened in the waiting room…do you remember? Ribbit."

Allen blushed. Like he could forget something like that. "Um…yeah. I remember."

Asui's embarrassment kept her eyes glued to the floor. Her cheeks were tinged with red. "I really liked it, ribbit. What about you?"

Allen nodded, suddenly finding his ceiling incredibly interesting. "Um, yeah, I…uh…really enjoyed it too."

"I was thinking that I'd like to do it again."

"Oh." Allen replied dumbly. He stood there awkwardly for a few moments as his brain took its sweet time to process her statement. His eyes widened. " _Oooh._ I uh, yeah, me…me too."

Asui raised her eyes from the floor to meet Allen's own. "Ribbit. Don't you think that you should close the door now? For privacy?"

"Uh-huh." Allen nodded and shut the door, making his way over to the bed so quickly that one could be forgiven for thinking that he had used his quirk. He sat next to her, their legs hung off the side of the bed, parallel to each other. He turned his torso towards her and leaned forwards, pressing his forehead against hers. His head was swimming as he stared into Asui's large dark eyes, intoxicated by the flood of hormones coursing through him, giddy and delirious with affection. "Tsu-chan," he murmured, cupping her cheek with one hand and gently stroking it with his thumb, "I—"

Asui leaned forward and cut Allen off with a kiss. After a few seconds, she released him and smiled fondly. "Just shut up and kiss me, Ren-chan."

Allen was happy to oblige.

* * *

 **AN: Sorry for the delay on getting this chapter out. A combination of real life, writer's block and good old procrastination held me up. Anyways, as promised, we have a dose of fluff to cleanse the system after the Internship arc. Next chapter, Tensei begins his efforts to make things up to Allen, we see the results of everybody's internships, and Class 1-A goes shopping. But before any of that, I'll be working to release chapter three of Heroes Never Die.**

 **As always, please leave a comment or review to let me know what you think. Until next time, Plus Ultra.**


	28. The Fruits of the Internships

Semper Fast Chapter 28

The Fruits of Their Internships

 _A TIME FOR WAR?_

 _At 2:30AM local time (UTC +8), the Chinese government launched an unannounced military invasion of Taiwan. The President, with the support of Congress issued a definitive statement this morning, condemning the action. "After centuries of failed attempts at reunification, it seems that China has decided to abandon its usual strategy of political and economic intimidation by resorting to military thuggery. To the citizens of Taiwan, rest assured, the American people stand with you. If the Chinese government does not withdraw its forces immediately, we will not hesitate to intervene."_

 _When asked if the United States was threatening war with the eastern superpower, the response from the White House was chilling. "Nothing is off the table…we would, of course, prefer to avoid armed conflict if possible, but this unprovoked and cowardly attack on the sovereignty of a US ally cannot and will not go unpunished."_

SEMPER FAST 

Suddenly, several things Allen had previously overlooked began to make sense. The sharp uptick in personnel and security measures on the base, his father's ever-increasing workload, his parents' tense, hushed discussions behind closed doors. If war really was about to break out, his father was almost certain to be deployed. With everything that had been happening to him lately—the attack on the USJ, the Sports Festival, his social media woes, internship with Ingenium and the Stain incident—Allen had wished somebody else could deal with drama for once. But now, as Allen scrolled through the article on his phone, he wondered if there were an ironic genie somewhere laughing at him.

Allen put away his phone and glanced around at the carefree faces of the people going about their business inside the crowded train station and had to swallow down a surge of bitter feelings. Except for the largely symbolic JSDF, Japan didn't have a standing military—in reality, the American military presence in the Pacific was only thing standing between Japan and China's desire for expansion. Allen had grown up hearing stories about his great-great-grandfather's service in the Global Civil War. His ancestor's heroism had earned him great accolades and recognition at the cost of his life. _They_ didn't have to worry about their family members being sent into a warzone.

In truth, the decade long conflict was more of a worldwide revolution than a proper war. After decades of discrimination by an elite that didn't seem to understand that trying to oppress a growing group of people with actual superpowers was a bad idea, an entire generation of furious quirk users lashed out at the majority quirkless governments and societies across the globe. Led by charismatic and powerful quirk users, they pitted their powers against the police and military forces of their country's governments. In the end, peace was only restored with the help of the men and women who became the first heroes. Exhausted by the endless chaos, the remaining vestiges of the world's governments agreed to put aside their national differences—at least until they could rebuild and adjust to the new paradigm of an increasingly superpowered world.

Allen shuddered. Only a year ago, a single villain destroyed most of a shopping district, and authorities were still trying to calculate the amount of damage done by the Noumu in the attack on Hosu city. Back then, only about a third of the population possessed quirks, but the death toll and devastation wrought by that conflict was severe enough that the world had remained at relative peace for over a century. Now, most of the population possessed quirks—quirks which had only grown more powerful and complex over time. He couldn't even fathom the amount of carnage that two armies full of trained quirk users and armed with military hardware would unleash.

' _And my dad is going to be right in the middle of that…'_ Allen clenched his fists and squeezed his eyes shut. He took several deep breaths to alleviate the sudden wave of dread that surged through him, so potent that it caused him physical pain. ' _Goddamnit…shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Why does he have to go there?'_

SEMPER FAST 

"Allen-kun!" Iida loudly greeted him at the gate. "On the behalf of the Iida family, I must sincerely apologize for the behavior of my brother!"

"Huh?" Wrapped up in his own worries, Allen stared at Iida uncomprehendingly for a moment before his eyes widened in realization. "Oh! Shit. He told you?" Allen asked, "The police told us both to keep what happened to ourselves and stick to the official story." He scowled, "Or else."

Iida nodded grimly. "He told me as much, but he didn't want me to have the wrong idea about you, at least." Iida hung his head. "Not only were you the one to take the Hero Killer down, but you risked your life to save Tensei after the way you were treated…and now _he's_ taking the credit! It is shameful!"

Allen let out a sigh. He didn't have the mental energy to deal with this right now. "You don't have to apologize to me Iida-san." He said. "It's…fine."

Iida vigorously shook his head. "It most certainly is _not_ 'fine _'_!" He threw his arms up into the air, "I—"

"Iida." Allen interrupted wearily. "Please, as a favor to me, just drop it. I've got a lot of shit on my plate right now, and this is just one of those things that I can't do anything about." He sighed. "I want to put it behind me and never think about again."

Iida opened his mouth as if to protest, but after a moment, he nodded. "Very well." He agreed, "I will respect your wishes to not speak of this any longer…but first, please allow me to say one thing."

"...Okay, I guess."

Iida bowed deeply enough that his torso was parallel to the ground. "Thank you, Allen-kun. From the bottom of my heart, thank you. What my brother did was inexcusable, but…well, he's my brother. I don't know what I would have done if…if…"

Allen scratched his head, embarrassed. "Come on man…stop. I just did what anyone else would." He paused, "Well, anyone else trying to be a hero anyways."

Iida straightened up. "Perhaps." He said with a smile, "But I am grateful all the same. Remember that no matter what anyone says, you are an excellent hero, and I will not abide anyone badmouthing you within my presence."

"…Thanks, man." Allen swallowed, "I…thanks." He cleared his throat and clapped Iida on the shoulder. "Now shut up and let's go inside before you kill me with all of this fucking sentiment, you little bitch."

Iida sighed. "Must you? You know how I feel about the language."

Allen snickered. "I must. I really must."

SEMPER FAST 

Allen walked into the classroom to raucous laughter. Once again suppressing the flash of bitterness and anger towards the happiness of others while his entire world seemed to hang on the precipice, he marched towards his laughing classmates to see what all the fuss was about. He was not disappointed.

"Bwahaha! Really? _Really,_ Bakugo?!" Sero and Kirishima had mirthful tears in their eyes as they laughed themselves sick at the sight of Bakugo's hair. Rather than the usual spiky mess, the ill-tempered teen's white locks had been coerced into a side-part, giving him a standard, respectable, office-worker sort of look.

"Stop laughing!" Bakugo snarled. "It's just stuck like this, even after washing it!"

" _Snerk_!" Allen snorted—he couldn't help it. The visual dissonance between the neat, orderly haircut and Bakugo's slovenly uniform—not to mention the murderous glare on his face—comedy _gold_. In reaction to the suppressed laugh, Bakugo's head instantly swiveled towards Allen with a swift, mechanical motion that made the three boys crack up even harder.

"Allen!" Kirishima gleefully greeted him. "Just look at that hair! It's a perfect 2:8 ratio! Bwahahaha!"

"Keep it up, shitheads!" Bakugo warned, "See what happens!"

"Hey Bakugo…" Allen said with a huge, shit-eating grin.

Bakugo glared at Allen. "I dare you to say it, dumbass…I fucking _dare_ you."

"Nice hair."

~ _Poomf!~_

Bakugo's hair suddenly exploded back into its original shape, apparently in response to his lost temper. "GRAAAGH! That's fucking it!" He howled and lunged at Allen, who laughed his ass off as he shamelessly threw Sero and Kirishima under the bus by using them as human shields.

After escaping the wrath of Bakugo, Allen began to make his way towards Asui, but noticed she was in the middle of telling Ashido and Jirou a story and decided against interrupting her. He didn't want her to think he was ignoring her, so he briefly caught her eye and greeted her with a smile and a nod before heading over to Midoriya and Uraraka, who—like the rest of the class—were discussing their internships.

"Yo!" Allen greeted the two with a wave of his hand. "How were your internships?"

Uraraka's expression was an odd combination of intensity and serenity as she smoothly slid into a martial arts stance and let out a controlled breath. "It was very…" She smiled, giving off an intense, almost palpable aura, "…instructive."

"Oookay…" Allen replied, shuffling away from the girl as subtly as possible. "What the hell happened to her?" He whispered to Midoriya.

Midoriya shrugged. A fond smile tugged at the corners of his mouth as he watched Uraraka go through various _kata_. "She did her internship with the Battle Hero, Gunhead. I guess she learned a lot." Midoriya's grin widened as he met Allen's eyes. "I did too."

"Oh ho." Allen gave his long-time friend a speculative look. In stark contrast to Uraraka, Midoriya seemed more relaxed than Allen had ever seen him, as if an invisible weight had been lifted from his shoulders. ' _Well,'_ Allen thought, ' _at least that makes one of us.'_

Meanwhile, other members of the class also watched on in amused curiosity as Uraraka demonstrated various combat techniques that had been ingrained into her body during the past week.

"Such a transformation in just a single week…" Kaminari remarked with a nervous grin and a shake of his head.

"Transformation?" Mineta repeated. "No," he wagged his finger. "Wrong, Kaminari." A haunted look appeared in Mineta's eyes and he nervously chewed on his fingernails. "All women…they're just hiding the demonic natures deep within them!"

"Dude…" Kaminari said, legitimately concerned. "What _happened_ to you with Mt. Lady?" Mineta didn't respond, merely hugging his knees and rocking back and forth in his chair at the sound of Mt. Lady's name. "Well…" Kaminari moved on, "I was pretty spoiled. It was a lot of fun! But if you want to talk about the most transformative, traumatic experience…" he shifted his eyes towards Allen, "It would be the one you had!"

In response to Kaminari's well-meaning statement, the attention of the class crashed upon Allen like a wave. Allen stiffened and unconsciously shifted his bag in front of him, clutching onto it as if it were a life preserver.

"Yeah, yeah!" Sero chimed in, seemingly ignoring the fact that Bakugo had him in a headlock and was in the process of giving him a vicious noogie. "You had a run-in with the Hero Killer! …Okay! I give! Uncle! Uncle!"

"I was so worried." Yaoyorozu's body language displayed irritation, but her voice tinged with honest relief as she scolded him. "I don't know what you were thinking with all of those tweets! What were you trying to prove, provoking him like that?"

"I don't know." Allen lied through grit teeth. "I was just being stupid, I guess."

"What? The dumbass acting like a retard on Twitter?" Bakugo snarked. "Surprise of the fucking century right there!" He dropped Sero and whirled on Kirishima with malice in his eyes. "Get the fuck over here and take your medicine, Stupid-hair! Resisting will only make it worse on you!"

"Whatever, I'm just glad that you're alive." Kirishima reassured Allen with a grin as he simultaneously warded off Bakugo with an extended, hardened arm. "And some of those tweets were hilarious!"

"But man, you sure are lucky that Ingenium came and saved you while that other villain attack was going on." Someone remarked. Iida stiffened in his seat and stared down at his desk with a furrowed brow.

Ojiro frowned and nodded in agreement. "I heard on the news that the Hero Killer is associated with the League of Villains somehow." He shuddered, unconsciously touching the side where his ribs had been broken. "First Ashikuro and now this…they've got some scary guys on their side. Can you imagine how bad it would have been if he been there at USJ too?"

"Now hold on a second, Ojiro." Kaminari said, "He's scary for sure, but he ain't anything like those gutter punks we saw at the USJ. Did you see that video of him? You can really see his tenacity, his one-track mind. Kind of cool, don't you think?" He turned to Allen, "You actually _fought_ against him, right? What was he like?"

Allen inhaled sharply and tightened his grip on his bag, trembling slightly as his traitorous mind took him from away from the safety of the classroom, transporting him back to that dingy alley once again.

 _Stain slunk out of the shadows with feline grace. With every motion, he revealed his role as the predator—that he was the one in complete control of the situation. Stain narrowed his red eyes at Allen. Even in the dim light, Allen could see within them a combination of burning conviction and cold rage that perversely reminded him of the intense pressure that he had felt from All Might in his first hero class._

 _"This rotten society is filled with worthless trash who sully the name 'Hero'." Stain said. "I will reclaim that name by purging this world of the false idols."_

"Allen."

 _Chills ran down Allen's spine and his chest locked up with terror. It was not the words themselves that frightened him—it was the distinctive cadence of Stain's voice as he spoke them, a reverent, almost lyrical quality that reminded him disturbingly of a prayer._

"Allen."

" _It makes no difference whether you fight me or not. You will fall, because you are a fake. Nothing but a pretender wearing a costume."_

"Allen!"

A hand grabbed Allen's shoulder and shook it, suddenly snapping him out his trance. With a yelp of surprise, Allen flinched away from the contact, dropping his bag and lashing out with a wild, reflexive swing that clipped something. His breathing was shallow and panicked as he frantically searched the room for his attacker. Allen's eyes widened in shock and horror at the sight of Midoriya kneeling on the ground, nursing a split lip.

"Shit!" Allen cursed, flooded by a sudden, bone-deep exhaustion as a knot of disgust and guilt rapidly formed in his stomach as he watched Uraraka help Midoriya to his feet. "I…I'm so sorry dude. You surprised me…I didn't mean to…fuck!"

Looking around at all the concerned or wary eyes directed at him filled Allen with an overwhelming desire to just go home and sleep. ' _Goddamnit. Everyone's fucking staring at me.'_ He ground his teeth and squeezed his eyes shut. " _Of_ course _they're staring at me! They just got a fucking front row seat to yet_ another _goddamn freak out!'_

"It's okay, Allen." Midoriya reassured him. "I'm fine. You hit way harder than this when we spar."

"Ren-chan." Asui's voice in Allen's ear made look up with a start at her sudden proximity. "You're okay." She told him in a low voice. "Nobody is hurt. Everybody is fine."

Allen had a pained expression as he stared at Midoriya's face, lingering on the split, rapidly swelling lip. "But…"

Asui grabbed Allen's chin and forced him to look at her. "Everyone is _fine_." She stated emphatically, "Everyone gets startled sometimes, so stop moping. You're not allowed to beat yourself up over nothing…that's my job."

Allen snorted involuntarily. He wasn't in a laughing mood, but the quip had completely caught him off guard. The laughter served to dislodge the ball of misery weighing him down—a little at least.

"Casually threatening me with violence?" Allen replied, recognizing what Asui was trying to do and smiling a bit despite himself. "That doesn't sound like the basis of a healthy relationship, Tsu-chan."

"What can I say?" Asui croaked, completely deadpan. "Sometimes violence _is_ the answer."

"Everyone heard that, right?" Allen loudly whined. "I'm constantly living in fear, wondering what will set her off next!"

"It's not like I _want_ to hurt you, Ren-chan." Asui sadly shook her head. "But you make me."

"That's awful." Yaoyorozu scolded the other members of the class snickering at the dark humor before she turning to Asui and Allen. "You shouldn't joke about things like that." Despite her disapproving words, Yaoyorozu couldn't keep from smiling at the antics of the couple, so her lecture fell flat.

"Everyone!" Iida suddenly boomed, making everyone jump in surprise and turn their attention away from Allen and Asui. "No more questions for now! Class is about to start! Get to your seats at once!"

"So loud." Tokoyami complained, and multiple classmates grumbled in agreement.

As the students made their way to their desks, Allen met Iida's gaze and silently mouthed "thank you". Iida acknowledged Allen's gratitude with a curt nod, and a tiny smile briefly flitted across the bespectacled teen's face before reverting to his default serious expression.

SEMPER FAST 

"I am here!" All Might greeted the class with his trademark smile as they approached the front gates of the massive, convoluted maze of pipes, cranes and factories that made up Training Field Gamma. Allen once again couldn't help but wonder just how much money UA had on hand to be able to build things like this.

"Huh…not much of an entrance this time." Satou remarked, referring to All Might. "I'd expect more, after a break."

"Right?" Kaminari scratched his head. "He was just sort of…standing there. He didn't even start posing."

"Maybe he ran out of material?" Ojiro wondered.

Unbeknownst to them, All Might overheard their whispered conversation. ' _I didn't run out of material…_ ' He internally pouted, ' _I just didn't feel like it today!'_

"Right!" All Might said, "As an immediate follow-up to your internships, today's activity is going to be something fun! We'll be holding a Rescue-Training race!"

"Excuse me, Sensei!" Iida cut in, "Shouldn't rescue training be conducted at the USJ?"

All Might wondered if he'd ever be allowed to finish an explanation of his lessons before getting interrupted. He waggled a finger back and forth. "The USJ is for _disaster_ rescues in particular! Now where was I…ah yes…this is a race! You be split into 4 groups of 5, with each team going one at a time! I'll send out a distress signal from somewhere inside and you will enter through the border in a race to see who can reach and rescue me the first!" He directed his gaze towards Bakugo and began to repeatedly point at him. "Naturally, keep the destruction of property to a minimum!"

"Oi." Bakugo grunted. "Stop pointing at me."

As the first group—consisting of Midoriya, Ojiro, Ashido, Sero and Iida—lined up at the entrance, the rest of the class discussed their predictions for how the exercise would go.

"Iida-kun only got off of his crutches a few days ago…" Yaoyorozu murmured with concern written across her delicate features. "Maybe he should have sat this one out."

"Nah," Allen replied, pushing away the stab of guilt he felt at the mention of Iida's injured knee. "Iida-san would have said something if he didn't feel up to it. It would be stupid of him to risk reinjuring his leg over something like this."

Yaoyorozu looked sideways at Allen. "Oh really?" She asked with a slight chill to her voice. "What makes you so sure of that? I've learned to never underestimate how stupid boys can be about getting carried away over pointless competitions."

' _Ouch._ ' Allen flushed and rubbed the back of his head. "Okay, I guess you got me there. _I_ would totally do it. _But_ ," He stressed, "Iida-san is smarter than I am, remember?"

"That's for sure!" Bakugo scoffed.

A vein throbbed in Allen's forehead. "Nobody was talking to you, asshole!"

"Bite me!" Bakugo shot back.

"Anyways," Uraraka said, ignoring Allen and Bakugo's bickering, "It looks like all of the class's mobility experts are in one group."

"Seriously?" / "What the hell?" Bakugo and Allen turned as one to dispute Uraraka's statement. "I have super speed!" / "I can fucking fly!" Irritated at being in synch yet again, they whirled back towards each other. "Stop doing that!" / "Fucking quit it!"

The rest of the class ignored them and continued to make their predictions.

"Yeah, I'd have say that Midoriya is at a major disadvantage." Jirou threw in her two cents. "He used it decently enough during the Sports Festival, but I'm not really sold on his power yet."

"That's true." Yaoyorozu conceded, "I've never seen him do more than one thing at a time, and he keeps hurting himself with it."

"My money's on Sero." Kirishima said with a grin. "In this environment, with his quirk? He's the best bet for sure."

"Yeah," Kaminari nodded, "but don't count out Ojiro! That kid can really move!"

"I've got a good feeling about Iida-kun." Uraraka chimed in. "He's always a solid choice when it comes to a race!"

"Deku's getting last." Bakugo spat, to the surprise of absolutely no one.

"I'm rooting for Ashido!" Mineta remarked. "She's super athletic, and her reflexes are insane!" A couple of people glanced at him as he said this and were surprised to see his normal lecherous grin absent from his face. He was actually serious, for once.

SEMPER FAST

A few minutes of discussion later, a trail of colored smoke shot up into the sky from within the complex to signal the start of the exercise, and the first group burst through the entrance in a flurry of movement. As predicted by several members of the class, Sero and Ojiro's superior ability to move in three dimensions quickly established them as frontrunners in the race.

However, moments later, Class 1-A's collective jaws dropped at the sight of Midoriya surge into the lead. His body was wreathed in green lightning as he moved skyward by ricocheting from wall to wall and performed an impressive series of seemingly effortless acrobatics—bouncing, flipping, and vaulting at a blistering pace over the plethora of obstacles in the crowded, irregular landscape.

"Woah!" Uraraka marveled in flushed excitement. "Look at him go! He's bouncing around just like…"

' _Those are my moves!'_ Bakugo watched in stunned disbelief. ' _While I was wasting my time with those idiots, he did it again!'_

"Fuck YES!" Allen cheered, "That's my boy right there!" He shook his head. "I haven't tried free running before but seeing it in action…I've _got_ to learn how to do that too."

Kirishima heartily agreed. "Totally. It's so badass!"

Allen grinned. "You wanna come back here on Saturday and practice?"

Kirishima rubbed his chin. "Actually, I think I remember reading that the school has a training facility set up specifically for that. It has something for almost any obstacle you'd find in a city, plus it has crash mats and stuff to make it safer in case you—"

"Oooooooo!"

The class let out a collective hiss of sympathy as Midoriya crashed and burned after messing up a landing, bouncing off a series of pipes and falling over two stories to the ground. Midoriya had told Allen that his quirk provided a limited form of invulnerability while it was in use—which was probably the only reason he was already back on his feet after a taking a nasty tumble like that. Allen grimaced. Even then, that _had_ to hurt.

"—fall." Kirishima finished. "…Yeah."

Allen nodded mechanically. If he'd fallen like that, it would left him with some broken bones at a _minimum_. "That would probably be a good idea." He said weakly. ' _You know what, I think I'll play it safe and take the low road for my turn. First place isn't worth risking a broken neck.'_

SEMPER FAST 

"Come on, dumbass." Bakugo needled Allen. "Was losing to me in a race _really_ that shocking? You were talking such shit earlier, you don't have _anything_ to say to me? No comebacks? No excuses?

' _I take it back.'_ Allen thought as he pushed his way into the men's locker room. A scowl was etched on his face from having to listen to Bakugo's gloating the entire way back from the training field. ' _I think I would have rather broken my neck than have to deal with this insufferable douche nozzle.'_

"For fucks sake, Bakugo." Allen growled. He felt like tearing his hair out, but settled for angrily and haphazardly hurling his equipment into its aluminum carrying case. "What the fuck do you want from me? I admit it, you _won_. You _beat_ me! Congrat-u-fucking-lations! Are you happy now?"

Bakugo laughed. "Just so long as you know what the natural order of things is, sure." He pointed to himself. "With _me_ on top," He then pointed at Allen, "and _you_ on the bottom."

"Phrasing!"

"Shut the fuck up, Mineta!" Bakugo and Allen shouted in tandem.

"That wasn't even me this time!" Mineta protested. "That was Kaminari!"

"You were thinking it!" Allen retorted, "Don't even pretend that you weren't!"

Mineta shook his head in denial. "No, not this time." He insisted, a crafty expression on his face. "I have more… _substantial_ things on my mind right now. You see comrades, I've just made the discovery of the century."

"Why do I get the feeling he's about to do something to make all of us look bad?" Midoriya asked nervously.

"Probably because he is." Allen groaned.

Mineta peeled a sheet of paper off the wall to reveal a small hole that had been drilled into the wall. "Look at this…" he said, breathless with excitement. "It's just like in Shawshank! Do you know what's on the other side of that wall?" He began to pant, and wiped a line of drool from his mouth. "It's the _Girl's Locker Room!"_

Almost all the boys in the locker room sharply looked up from what they were doing at this revelation. Allen and Iida exchanged a glance. Both of their unsuspecting girlfriends were on the other side of that wall.

"Stop this at once, Mineta!" Iida shouted. "Peeking is a major offence!"

"Yeah!?" Mineta retorted, "Well Mineta Jr. here is ready to go on the _offensive_!"

"Mineta." Allen growled. He cracked his knuckles menacingly as he approached the miniature would-be sex offender. He'd been in a bad mood all day and was just _itching_ to take it out on somebody. "Did you forget what I told at the Sports Festival? _In the fucking groun_ —"

"Not so fast, my American friend." Mineta interrupted Allen mid-threat and pulled out a large cardboard tube, seemingly out of nowhere. "Do you remember our little chat, before the internships?"

Allen froze. "Is that…?" Mineta nodded and handed the tube to Allen, who opened it, removed its contents and tenderly unrolled the paper stored inside. He gasped. "This isn't just…this is…this is…"

"That's right." Mineta said smugly. "As promised, one Mt. Lady poster, autographed _and_ _personalized_. I think that you will agree that I have _more_ than fulfilled _my_ end of the deal, now it's time for you to fulfill yours."

Iida scoffed. "You have a lot to learn about judging character, Mineta-kun. Allen-kun is not the kind of man who would be swayed by such a bribe." He turned to Allen. "Isn't that right, Allen-kun?" Iida's confident expression melted away at the sight of Allen in a daze as he stared longingly at the personalized poster. "Allen-kun?!"

"Huh?" Allen blinked several times. He stared blankly at Iida. "What was that?"

" _Please_ tell me you aren't seriously considering allowing him to get away with this?" Iida scolded him. "Your girlfriend is on the other side of that wall!"

The rest of the boys watched this drama unfold in hushed fascination as Allen silently stood there for several long seconds, alternating between looking at the poster and at the hole in the wall. "I mean…"

"Allen-kun!" Iida barked, scandalized.

"I'm kidding! I'm kidding! Of course not!" Allen replied, acting offended and fooling no one. "What kind of guy do you think I am? Christ…" He glared at Mineta. "Back away from the hole, Mineta. No perving on my girlfriend. No way, off limits, against the rules."

"That wasn't a condition of our arrangement!" Mineta whined.

"I have altered the deal." Allen said, rolling up the poster. "Pray I don't alter it any further."

Iida frowned. There was something off about that exchange just now. "And no peeking on the other girls too, right Allen-kun?"

"Hm?"

"No peeking on the other girls too, _right Allen-kun_?" Iida repeated angrily.

"Uh, yeah…sure, whatever. Totally. Don't peek on them either." Allen half-heartedly said to Mineta as he slid the poster into its protective tube.

"Allen-kun." Iida said severely. "You didn't even _try_ to act sincere."

"What the fuck?!" Allen protested. "Why am _I_ the one on trial here? I'm not the one trying to peek! And just who the fuck appointed _me_ the Mineta police anyways!"

"You did!" The rest of the boys replied all at once.

"Details." Allen sniffed.

"AAAAAARGH MY EYE!" A sudden howl from Mineta made the rest of the boys jump in surprise. They had been so distracted that they failed to notice Mineta take advantage of their lapse in attention by attempting to peek anyways. His current situation was the result of the girl's retribution for his transgression. "I'M BLIIIIND!"

"That's right!" Midoriya said. "Jirou has really sensitive hearing. She could probably hear everything that was said just now."

Allen watched dispassionately as Mineta rolled around on the ground in agony and contemplated what to do about this. On one hand, Mineta had gone ahead and tried to peek on Asui despite Allen's warning, and needed to be punished. On the other hand…Allen glanced at the cardboard tube he was holding and came to a decision.

"This still counts as one." He told Mineta.

"That's it!" Iida shouted before lunging at the tube. "This is for your own good! Give me that poster, Allen-kun!"

"Over my dead body!"

 **AN: I know, I know. It's been a while. I had this chapter mostly done back in early December but my laptop died and I lost everything. It was really hard for me to work up the will to redo all of that lost work. I've had this locker room scene planned out since I stared the fic, and have really been looking forward to reaching this point. As always, please leave a review and let me know what you think! Until next time, Plus Ultra.**


	29. Test Anxiety

Semper Fast

Chapter 29: Test Anxiety

The cheers and excitement surrounding Aizawa's announcement of the summer training camp were not universal among the students of Class 1-A. While the others chatted about their hopes and plans for the upcoming getaway, the idiot trio of Allen, Ashido, and Kaminari all exchanged a terrified glance. It had been several long weeks since the internships, but the moment that they had been dreading had finally arrived. In just a week, they would face an implacable foe more fearsome than anything that the League of Villains could possibly produce…the Final Exams.

"I'm totally fucked." Allen announced during a break between classes. The statement was delivered with the same sort of serene acceptance one often saw in terminal patients. He saluted the class with a solemn, dead eyed expression. "It was an honor serving with you all. Don't forget about me."

"You aren't alone." Kaminari said, his eyes were similarly devoid of life as he moved to stand next to Allen and joined him in his salute. Ashido joined them as well, immediately before breaking out into a fit of manic laughter that quickly degenerated into hysterical tears.

Midoriya rolled his eyes. "Allen, stop being so dramatic. You know that I'll tutor you. You passed your midterms, so you couldn't possibly have fallen _that_ far behind. How much do you have to review?" Midoriya picked up the notebook on Allen's desk. "Here, let me see your notes."

"Yeah," Allen said awkwardly, "…about that."

Midoriya's expression cycled through of horror, disbelief and amusement as he thumbed through the pages of Allen's notes. He closed the notebook and gently placed it back on the desk. "Allen?" He softly asked, his voice carrying a dangerous edge to it. "What the hell was that?"

Allen averted his eyes from Midoriya's piercing stare. "…Pretty much what it looked like."

"Really?" Midoriya replied. His eyebrow began to twitch. "Because to me, what it _looked_ like was a flip book animation of you repeatedly kicking Bakugo in the junk."

"Hey, let me see that!" Ashido grabbed the notebook from the desk and flipped through the pages. "Oh my gosh it totally is! That's freaking hilarious!" Midoriya continued to glare at Allen as Ashido ran from person to person, showing each of them the flip animation.

Uraraka snorted with laughter when it came to her turn to see Allen's work. "The drawings aren't all that bad, either!"

When Ashido went to show it to Bakugo, he snatched it out of the pink girl's hands with a look of disgust and tore the notebook in two before incinerating it for good measure. "Even for you, this is fucking immature. Do you seriously not have anything better to do with your time, you waste of space?"

"I wouldn't exactly have worded it that way," Midoriya said, "but I kind of have to agree. What the hell, Allen? Have you seriously not taken any notes since midterms? Have you done any studying _at all_?"

Allen paused. "…Define _any_."

"Allen, you're killing me." Midoriya groaned. "Why on earth would you do this to yourself? And why didn't you ask me or Iida-kun or Yaoyorozu-san for help? If you had just stayed on top of things, this would just be a simple matter of review, but now I'm going to have to teach you 9 weeks of material in only a few days! It's going to take a miracle for you to pass all of your exams now!"

"Well I'm _sorry_!" Allen replied defensively. "It's just that between getting tortured by a serial killer, turned into a laughingstock on national television and social media, nearly being turned into _sashimi_ by _another_ fucking serial killer, and my dad getting sent to a goddamn _warzone,_ solving _quadratic equations_ haven't exactly been on the top of my priority list!"

"That reminds me," Jirou turned to Yaoyorozu, "I'm a little iffy on quadratic equations, do you mind lending me a hand with those?"

"Sure." Yaoyorozu replied. "In fact, how about I put together a study group at my home for anybody in the class who needs help. I'll let Mother know to clear out the grand hall."

Midoriya paled. "Chris-sensei is in Taiwan right now?" Given its proximity to Japan, the ongoing conflict had been featured in the news on a nearly daily basis—mostly concerning the horrendous devastation that had been unleased upon the island nation. After only a few weeks of fighting, huge sections of the Taiwanese capital had been reduced to rubble. The death toll was unknown, but expected to be astronomical considering Taipei's population density.

"What?!" Ojiro and Kirishima exclaimed together before heading over to Allen.

"What the hell, dude?" Kirishima added, "Why wouldn't you tell us something like this? We're your friends!"

"Seriously." Ojiro said. "This is the kind of stuff that friends are here to help you deal with." He furrowed his brow. "Is this why you haven't had any of us over to train lately?"

"Sort of…" Allen answered quietly. "With the war going on, security has been hiked up. The only people allowed on base right now are government contractors, military personnel, and their families…I haven't said anything until now because I don't really like to talk about it."

Having overheard their conversation, Asui walked over to join them. Without a word or any hesitation, she grabbed hold of one of Allen's arms and leaned her head against his shoulder.

"H-hey, Tsu-chan!" Allen glanced around at the raised eyebrows of other classmates. He half-heartedly attempted to shake her off, but Asui's grip was too strong. "You know you're not supposed to do that kind of thing in class, cut it out."

Asui shook her head. "Not gonna happen." She croaked. "And since when have you been such a stickler for the rules?"

"Get a room, you two!" Mineta seethed with transparent envy, "Nobody wants to see your PDA! OW! AAAGH!" He howled, "Damn it Jirou, you bitch! Why do you always go for the eyes!"

Jirou retracted her Earphone Jack and stared pitilessly at Mineta as he writhed on the floor in agony. "I don't know," she coldly replied, "why can't you keep your eyes to yourself? What they do is none of your business Grape-boy."

"Jirou-kun!" Iida rebuked, "That sort of response to Mineta-kun's peeking was one thing, but he is technically correct in this case! If I see you use your quirk to inflict harm on him in that manner again, I will be forced to bring it to the teacher!"

"Seriously?" Jirou asked incredulously, "You're taking _his_ side? After he tried to peek on us? On your _girlfriend_?"

The news of his and Yaoyorozu's relationship had broken out as a result that incident. Iida's less than stellar confidence in Allen's commitment to protecting the virtue of the girls other than Asui had led him to have a private chat with Mineta—the contents of which ceased to remain private within minutes of its conclusion as Mineta wasted no time in spreading the news in his jealous rage.

Iida pushed up his glasses. "I am the class president." He replied seriously. "My personal feelings are irrelevant. My duty is to lead by example, and I cannot overlook violence towards a classmate no matter how distasteful I may find them. To do so would be an unacceptable breach of the integrity of the office."

"I guess…but… _seriously_?" Jirou looked over to Yaoyorozu for assistance. "Come on Yaomomo, back me up here!"

Yaoyorozu held up her hands defensively. "Don't look at me." She replied. A fond, yet exasperated smile appeared on her pretty face. "When it comes to his sense of responsibility and duty, not even I can change his mind. Honestly, I don't even want to…it is one of the many things I like about him after all."

Iida ears were red as he coughed to clear his throat. He turned to Allen and Asui, "Anyways! I'm afraid Mineta-kun is correct. Asui-kun! I must insist that you cease this behavior at once!"

Asui stared at Iida blankly. She tightened her grip on Allen. "I'm curious Iida-chan, what makes you think I'll listen to you if I didn't listen to Ren-chan?"

"Probably because you never listen to me anyways?" Allen snarked.

"Hush Ren-chan." Asui croaked, "The adults are talking. Just…keep standing there looking pretty."

"Remind me why I put up with you again?" Allen asked, chuckling despite himself. "I could find someone else you know…someone with supermodel looks, who would feed me her handmade lunches and treat me like a king." ' _It's kind of frightening how good she is at making me laugh.'_

Asui patted him on the arm. "It's absolutely adorable that you think that."

"Asui-kun." Iida insisted. "Now, please."

"Fine." Asui let out an irritated ribbit. "Killjoy-kun."

Iida gave Allen an accusatory look. "You've been a terrible influence on her, Allen-kun."

Allen grinned. "Yeah, it's awesome, right?"

"Um…hey Deku-kun?" Uraraka shyly approached Midoriya, who was busy writing in his notebook and muttering under his breath about the most efficient teaching schedule.

Midoriya looked up. "…What's up Uraraka-san?"

Uraraka hesitated when she saw the clearly stressed look on his face but gathered her will and forged ahead regardless. "Well…um…I'm not any danger of failing, but I have some subjects that I'm kind of weak in…and you're so smart, so I was just wondering if we could, um, study together."

"…Huh?" Was Midoriya's response. Thanks to his stress-addled brain pulling him in multiple directions, he failed to comprehend what Uraraka was saying. "I…uh…"

Uraraka flushed and waved her hands in front of her face, "But if you're going to be too busy teaching Allen-kun, that's totally okay. Yaomomo said that she's putting together a big study group, I just wanted to…I mean, I thought that…it would be nice to do it with you."

"…Really? Why?" Midoriya asked. "Yaoyorozu-san is smarter than me, so she'd probably be able to answer your questions better than me…plus, we're going to be doing it at my place. Wouldn't it be a little awkward for you being the only girl? OW," Midoriya yelped as an arm snaked around his neck and placed him in a headlock. "Allen!" He protested, trying to break free of his friend's iron grip. "What are you doing?"

"Shut the fuck up." Allen said cheerfully. He looked at Uraraka, "Excuse us, I need to borrow him for just a second."

Uraraka blinked. "Um…okay?" She said uncertainly, looking on with confusion as Allen dragged a struggling Midoriya over to a quieter corner of the room.

"What was that for?" Midoriya complained, rubbing his neck.

"Why are you trying to talk the cute girl who's obviously into you out of spending time with you?" Allen asked. "You're supposed to be the smart one."

Midoriya flushed and began to stammer. "She's not…she doesn't…I'm…you don't know that."

"Dude." Allen said. "You two have been dancing around each other since that time we went to the arcade. The whole bashful, 'will they, won't they' thing was kind of cute at first, but now it's just getting on my fucking nerves. Have you made _any_ progress since then?"

Midoriya paused. "Define _progress_."

Allen pinched the bridge of his nose. "Son of a bitch. Freaking smartass…now I see why you got so annoyed." He stared at Midoriya. "Okay, here's what we're going to do. You're going to go over there and invite her to study with us at your place. Asui will come too. She's ranked 7th in the class or something, so she can handle teaching me. Which means…" Allen poked Midoriya in the chest, "you will _pay attention to her_." He poked him again, "You will _engage with her_." Poke. "You will _show her why you're awesome."_ Poke. "You will—"

"Okay!" Midoriya slapped Allen's finger away. "I get it! I get it!"

"Then go!" Allen demanded. "She's waiting!"

Midoriya looked over at Uraraka. She made eye contact and waved at him with a small smile on her face. He hesitated, a bead of sweat began to run down his forehead. "…Do I have to right now? I don't know if I'm mentally prepa—"

"I will fucking hurt you."

That did the trick. "I'm going! I'm going!" Midoriya yelped, walking over towards Uraraka with a spring in his step.

Allen had a satisfied grin on his face as he silently watched Midoriya spit out a red-faced, stuttering invitation to Uraraka. She pressed her fingers together and nodded with a beaming smile.

"Oh yeah," he said to himself, "I'm a good friend."

xxx

SEMPER FAST

xxx

"Midoriya-san!"

As always, Inko let out an involuntary squeak when Allen wrapped the tiny woman into a hug the moment he stepped into the threshold of the cozy two bedroom apartment.

"Hello Allen-kun, it's good to see you too." She greeted him before directing a gentle smile at Asui. "And you must be Asui-san then. I've heard a lot of good things about you from Izuku." A mischievous gleam appeared in her eye. "It makes me wonder what you're doing with Allen-kun."

Caught off guard by the unexpected joke from the meek looking woman, Asui let out a loud, croaking laugh that she quickly covered up.

"Oh, come on! That wasn't funny. It was the most obvious mom joke you can make!" Allen groused. "How come you never laugh like that at _my_ jokes?"

"It wasn't as much the joke itself, as it was the fact that your mom made the exact same joke." Asui explained, a light blush sitting on her cheeks as she continued to randomly break out into quiets snickering.

Inko giggled. "Oh, did she now?"

Asui nodded. "Almost immediately."

"Well, please come inside and make yourselves at home." Inko said, ushering the couple inside. "Izuku and Uraraka-san are in the sitting room already." Inko lowered her voice. "It's good that you two are here, too."

Allen raised an eyebrow. "…What's wrong?"

A bead of sweat appeared on Inko's forehead and her smile became a bit strained. "You'll know as soon as you see them."

Allen had to restrain himself from breaking out into hysterical laughter the moment he saw the two of them sitting _sieza_ on opposite sides of the traditional Japanese table, nervously staring at their hands folded in their laps in silence. The atmosphere was so tense, awkward, and so incredibly, unbelievably _Midoriya_ that Allen quietly took out his phone and snapped a photo to preserve the image for posterity.

' _I'm going to get years of mockery out of this moment.'_ Allen gleefully thought. ' _Actually…'_ He sent it to Ashido with a simple message attached. " **I'll just leave this here with you.** "

Ashido's reply—a gif of some anime character laughing maniacally—was immediate. " **I trust you know what you've just unleashed?** "

" **Do what you will.** " Allen replied. " **It's out of my hands now.** "

"What is this—a marriage meeting?" Asui asked, making all three of them jump. Allen quickly stashed his phone in his back pocket as stealthily as he could.

"Oh, Allen, Tsu-chan!" Midoriya exclaimed with great relief, "You're here! We were just waiting for you to get started!"

"I could see that." Allen replied with a grin, "But now that we're here, I could really go for something to drink."

Midoriya gave Allen a puzzled look. "You know where the fridge is."

"Midoriya." Allen said, shooting a significant look at the clear tabletop in front of Uraraka. "Go get us something to drink."

"Oh…OH!" Midoriya flushed and quickly stood up from his seat. "S-s-sorry! Is barley tea all right with all of you?"

"That would be great!" Uraraka said. Allen and Asui also gave their assent.

"O-Okay, I'll be right back."

Allen and Asui exchanged a look and slid into the side of the table previously occupied by Midoriya.

Asui pinched Allen's leg. "What did you just do with your phone just now?" She whispered.

Allen shot her his best innocent look. "I don't know what you're talking about." Not buying it, Asui pinched him harder. "Ow!"

"Are you okay?" Uraraka gave Allen a curious look.

"Oh, uh…I'm fine, my leg just cramped a bit sitting down." He lied, "I'm not really used to Japanese style tables."

"What. Did. You. Do?" Asui's whisper was a little harsher.

"Nothing!" Allen whispered back, "I just took a picture of them!" Asui's large unblinking eyes bored into Allen, making him break out into a sweat. "…I might have also sent it to Ashido…and encouraged her to do with it what she will."

Asui's mouth opened a bit in horror. "You're a terrible friend."

"Ehhh." Allen replied. "Maybe a little."

"What are you two talking about over there?" Uraraka asked, "It's kind of making me nervous, the way you keep glancing at me."

"Don't worry about it." Allen said, "Just…couple stuff, you know how it is."

"Not really." Uraraka replied somewhat wistfully. "I've never actually dated anyone."

"Really?" Allen asked, "That's kind of surprising, since you're so cute and all." Uraraka's face went beet red and Asui lightly hit Allen in the shoulder.

"You're seriously flirting with another girl while I'm sitting right here?"

"Who's flirting?" Allen said. "I'm just being honest. She _is_ cute." Allen grinned and wrapped an arm around Asui. "No need to be jealous, Tsu-chan. You'll always be the cutest frog on the lily pad of my heart."

Asui stared at Allen with dead eyes while Uraraka began to crack up. "…That was the lamest thing you've ever said, and that's saying a lot. Seriously…that was awful. I might actually have to reconsider my association with you."

Allen snickered. "At least Uraraka-san appreciates my poetic soul."

Uraraka's head was on the table and her face was even redder than before—though not out of embarrassment this time. "Lily pad of his heart! Bwahahaha!"

"What's so funny?" Midoriya asked, returning with a tray holding drinks for the four of them and a bowl of snacks. Uraraka merely pointed at Allen, still laughing at his expense.

Allen shrugged. "You kinda had to be here. Let's get to studying. I'm in dire straits here, remember?"

"You're right." Midoriya said, setting the platter down onto the table. Once he had finished passing out the drinks, he stared at Allen and Asui. "But, um…" He hesitated, alternatively looking at Asui's spot next to Allen and the open seat next to Uraraka.

"Hurry up and sit down." Allen rolled his eyes and pointed to the open spot. "We don't have all day. Uraraka's not going to bite you." He waited until Midoriya sat down and grinned. "Unless that's what she's into."

"Allen/Allen-kun!" Allen cackled wickedly while Uraraka and Midoriya's faces both flushed crimson. They made eye contact for a split second before looking away, embarrassed.

"Ren-chan, stop teasing them." Asui scolded him halfheartedly. "Midoriya-chan was nice enough to put together a lesson plan for you so you can come to the training camp with us."

"Sorry." Allen apologized.

"Thank you, Tsu-chan." Midoriya handed her two of the four identical three-ring binders he had assembled the night before. "It's going to be nice having someone to help me keep Allen on task. You had no idea how hard it was for me to get him up to speed for the entrance exam."

"…Wow." Asui let out an impressed ribbit as she flipped through the binder. "This is incredible."

Midoriya had broken all their academic material down by subject, distilling everything they had learned during the entire semester into its most essential parts. He also provided practice questions taken from homework assignments, quizzes and their mid-term, as well as his own original practice problems with their step-by-step solutions written out at the end of each section.

"This is even better than those study guides you can buy at a store!" Uraraka marveled. "Thank you, Deku-kun!"

"How long did this take you, Midoriya-chan? Did you even sleep last night?"

Midoriya flushed. "N-no, it's not that big of a deal—the part that took me the longest was making the extra copies and putting them into the binders, and that was maybe an extra hour or two at most! I've been tutoring Allen since Middle School, so I've gotten in the habit of putting guides like this together over the course of the year."

"Doesn't that interfere with your own studying though?" Asui asked, giving Allen a piercing look. Allen shrugged and went back to flipping through his own copy of the binder.

Midoriya shook his head, "Not at all! I actually think that doing all of this has made me better at studying—I never used to beat Kacchan in grades until I started tutoring Allen, now I almost always come out ahead of him."

"You're welcome." Allen said in an exaggeratedly pompous tone before breaking out into a laugh.

"Okay, Ren-chan." Asui stated, "Time to get to work. Pick your poison—Math, Social Studies, Hero Studies, Science, or Japanese Literature."

"English—ack! Damn it!" Allen cried out in response to Asui poking him in the ear with her tongue. "You know I hate that!"

"Yes," Asui replied, "that's why I do it. Want to try that again? I know that you're doing fine in English."

Uraraka groaned. "Ugh, English is the worst. So many grammar exceptions—[Run, ran, swim, swam]! Why can't they just pick a rule and stick with it!"

"Hey!" Allen objected, feeling the need to defend his native language. "At least we only have one alphabet! Three separate writing systems my ass…"

"Ren-chan." Asui said. "Focus. What do you want to cover?"

"I don't care," Allen grunted, "just pick something for me. It's going to suck regardless."

"Math it is." Asui croaked, eagerly picking her favorite subject.

Allen blanched. "You know, on second thought…"

"Too late." Asui said, "You had your chance. Go ahead and solve problems 1 through 20. Let me know when your done and I'll go over them with you before we move on."

"Yes _Asui-sensei_." Allen sullenly replied. " _Gah_!" He exclaimed, wiping out his ear after another tongue poke. "What did I do?"

"Your tone just now annoyed me." Asui explained, "Plus, it's entertaining to watch you squirm. Now get to work."

xxx

(Several Hours Later)

xxx

"No more…" Uraraka flopped to her back and moaned in defeat. "My brain…it hurts…"

On the other side of the table, Allen mirrored Uraraka's posture. "What she said…" He covered his eyes with the back of his forearm. "I can't keep going…I've been reduced to just staring at the numbers now…it's like they're mocking me. Those little bastards…"

"Our scheduled break isn't for another forty-five minutes." Midoriya murmured as he went over Uraraka's work with a red pen—as expected, he and Asui were still going strong. "Just try and suck it up until then…Uraraka-san, you seem to be having some trouble with the Future Perfect tense. Let's go back over those sentences again, and I'll help you through them."

"Deku-kuuuuun…" Uraraka whined. "Please, have mercy."

"Save yourselves…" Allen groaned, "I'll just slow you down, go on without me!"

Midoriya and Asui exchanged a look of sympathetic understanding. Midoriya let out a sigh. "I guess we take our break a little bit early. If you're that mentally tapped out, I doubt you'll retain anything we cover anyways."

Allen was on his feet in an instant. "YES!" He cried, stretching out his body after sitting for so long. "AT LAST!"

"You sure recovered quickly." Asui quipped, "Was that little drama display really necessary, Ren-chan?"

"It was entirely necessary." Allen retorted. "I feel cooped up. Let's go get some exercise. Everyone brought their workout clothes like I said in the group text, right?"

Uraraka leapt to her feet. "Oh my gosh, YES!" She ran and grabbed her bag from the threshold. "I could really use some fresh air right about now! Hey Deku-kun, where can I change?"

Midoriya's eyes went wide. "Ch-ch-ch-change?"

Uraraka tilted her head. "Yeah, silly! I can't go ahead and work out in my street clothes, can I? They'd get all sweaty and gross!"

"Uh…y-yeah…o-of course." Midoriya pointed in a direction. "You can either use my room or the bathroom…they're just down the hall."

"I'll come with you." Asui croaked, rising from her seat to grab her own bag. "Let's use Midoriya-chan's room. I'll bet you ¥500 that it's completely full of All Might stuff."

Uraraka snorted. "Do you think I'm stupid? There's no way I'm taking that bet."

"Uraraka-san…is changing in my room." Midoriya muttered, his face was lit up with a fiery blush. "She's taking her clothes off where I sleep every night…how is this a thing that's happening?"

Allen snorted and slapped Midoriya on the back. "Easy there," he joked, "Don't you go all Mineta on me now."

"You take that back right now." Midoriya flatly demanded. "Don't even _joke_ about that."

"Damn." Allen blinked. "I thought you and Mineta were friends."

"We are…sort of," Midoriya admitted, "you don't go through something like the USJ together without forming a bond, but he's still…you know…" He trailed off awkwardly. "How do I put this…?"

"He's still Mineta?"

"…Yeah." Midoriya said, looking slightly ashamed. "I know what it feels like to be ostracized and treated like a pariah, so I don't want to do the same thing to him, but the way he acts is just…"

"We're done!" Now wearing a black tank top and sweatpants, Uraraka practically skipped into the sitting room with Asui in tow. "You two hurry up and get changed!" She giggled. "Your room definitely did not disappoint, Deku-kun! I've never seen so much All Might merchandise!"

"Haha…" Midoriya laughed nervously, "yeah. I've got a lot of it, all right. I—"

"Don't care!" Allen grabbed Midoriya by the shoulders and steered him towards his room. "Let's move!"

xxx

SEMPER FAST

xxx

"Ladies," Allen cheered, "welcome to Dagoba beach! I hope the jog here got you nice and warmed up, because it's time to have some fun!"

"There sure are a lot of couples here." Asui remarked, staring at the dozens of people strolling hand-in-hand along the glittering shoreline.

"Yeah," Allen agreed, pulling a couple of orange cones and a frisbee out of his bag, "it's a really popular dating spot now, but a little under a year ago, this place was a literal dump—I'm talking huge, towering mounds of trash—until _someone_ " Allen shot Midoriya a grin, "went and cleaned it up on his own."

Uraraka looked at Midoriya with surprise. "Deku-kun? Is that true?"

"Allen!" Midoriya hissed. "That's supposed to be a secret!"

"Why?" Asui asked, tilting her head in confusion. "Isn't this a good thing? Is there some reason you need keep it a secret?"

"N-no, no reason." Midoriya stammered, waving his hands back and forth. "I just…um…"

Allen scoffed. "He thinks that acknowledging his accomplishments would make him an arrogant, peacocking braggart like Bakugo—"

"Or you." Asui quipped.

"—or me…wait." Allen glared at Asui. "Smartass." He grumbled as Uraraka and Midoriya chuckled.

"I didn't do it for recognition or because I wanted to be praised." Midoriya said, looking uncomfortable but playing along with Allen's explanation. "I'm better at using it now, but I've had…um, quirk issues, my whole life, so I didn't know if I could even _be_ a hero. Heroism is about community service at heart, and this was just…it was something that I _could_ do, even without a quirk I could use."

Uraraka had a beaming grin on her face as she stared at Midoriya with sparkling eyes. "Wow, that's so cool!"

"I-It's nothing much…" Midoriya awkwardly deflected the praise.

"Okay, enough chit-chat!" Allen interjected, "We're burning daylight here! The game is called Ultimate Frisbee, and the rules are simple! No running with the frisbee, no interfering with the passer, and you score when you get the frisbee past the line!" Allen pressed two cones into Midoriya's hands. "Go set up these about fifty meters down there. The field will be about ten meters wide."

"Ooh! That sounds like fun!" Uraraka cheered, "I wanna be on Deku-kun's team!"

"That's good," Allen grinned, "because those were going to be the teams anyways."

"So, what makes this "ultimate" frisbee, exactly?" Asui asked.

Allen frowned. "Oh shit…that's right, this is Japan."

"You're just figuring that out now?" Asui snarked.

"Damn Tsu-chan," Allen laughed, "You're spicy today. Well, this is an American sport, so normally we'd be allowed to use our quirks to play, but we can't really do that here. We'll just have to play regular frisbee instead."

Midoriya's eyes lit up. "That sounds amazing!"

Allen raised an eyebrow. "Regular frisbee? I mean…it's still fun, but I wouldn't call it amazing."

Midoriya shook his head, "No, the American version! I'd bet we could get permission from the teachers to use a field on campus, and then we could organize a game with the whole class!"

Allen looked thoughtful. "Say, that's not a bad idea…we might even be able to put together a match against Class 1-B. I didn't really get a chance to meet any of them during the Sports Festival, so it would be a good chance to get to know the other people in our grade."

Midoriya's eyes gleamed. "And a perfect chance to see their quirks!"

"Uh, yeah…" Allen agreed, "that too, I guess. Rock, Paper, Scissors to see who starts with the frisbee?"

"Sounds good," Midoriya agreed, "as long as you don't use your quirk to cheat again."

" _What?_ I'm offended that you would even _suggest_ such a thing!" Allen scoffed, "The _gall_ , sir! The sheer, _unmitigated gall!_ I would never even _dream_ of—"

"Allen." Midoriya interrupted, "You aren't fooling anyone."

"Okay, you got me." Allen grinned and held out his fist. "You ready to do this?"

Midoriya nodded and extended his own fist.

"Rock, Paper, Scissors, Shoot!"

xxx

SEMPER FAST

xxx

"It's over!" Allen cheered, "The worst is finally over!" Ashido and Kaminari let out cheers of their own, sharing in the delight of having survived exam hell.

"Did you hear what the practical is going to be?" Kaminari grinned.

"Nah," Allen shook his head, "This past week has been nothing but nonstop cramming with these two slave drivers!" Allen pointed at Asui and Midoriya.

"You're welcome." The two slave drivers dryly said in unison.

"I'm actually pretty excited to get my grade back." Uraraka said, "I've never felt so good about handing a test in before! Deku-kun is a really good teacher!"

"Same with Yaomomo!" Ashido said, "I doubt I did all that great, but it's only thanks to her that I think I survived!"

"So, what's the deal with the practical?" Allen inquired. "I thought that we weren't going to get any info on that until the day of the test itself."

Kaminari grinned, "We heard from one of our senpai that it's going to be robots, like in the entrance exam!"

"Super easy!" Ashido cheered, "Summer camp here we come!"

Allen frowned. "Really?" He asked skeptically, "They're just going to throw the same obstacles at us that we could beat before we even got any hero training? That seems kind of…uninspired."

The grins fell off Ashido and Kaminari's faces at Allen's sensible words.

"I hate to admit it." Bakugo said, "But the idiot has a point—putting us up against those weak ass robots would be stupid as hell. I could break those shitty things all day, how the fuck is that supposed to test us?" He grinned. "I wanna fight the teachers."

"Why would you say that? Why did you say that? Don't you jinx us on this!" Ashido cried, grabbing Bakugo by the shoulders and shaking him. "I need this camping trip! I want hot springs, and camp food, and bonfires! I wanna go on a test of courage!"

"Let me go, Raccoon Eyes." Bakugo growled. "Before I make you."

"Come on man…" Kaminari was also sweating nervously. "Don't say crazy stuff like that. We can't take on the teachers, they'll crush us."

"Crush _you_ , maybe." Bakugo scoffed. "I'll just keep doing what I've been doing since I got here—I'll win, no matter who I'm up against."

* * *

 **AN: I'm going to admit, this chapter was downright relaxing for me to write. No major plot points to cover, no major planning required, just playing in the sandbox and letting the characters do their thing. I am a believer in advancing the plot, so there won't be a whole lot of pure fluff like this, but I do think it's fun on occasion. As always, let me know what you think with a review. PLUS ULTRA!**


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